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m 



BOOK OF RIDDLES 



rn'E HUSDEED HOME AMUSEMENTS. 



co:^ta3:nixg 



A CHOICE AND CUPwIOUS COLLECTION OF EIDDLES, CHAKADES, 
ENIGMAS, REBUSES, ANAGRAMS, TRANSPOSITIONS, CON- 
UNDRUMS, AMUSING PUZZLES, QUEER SLEIGHTS, 
RECREATIONS IN ARITHMETIC, FIRESIDE 
GAMES, AND NATURAL MAGIC, 



EMBRACING 



ENTERTAINING AMUSEMENTS IN MAGNETISM, CHEMISTRY, SECOND 

SIGHT, AND SIMPLE RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE EOR 

EAMILY AND SOCIAL PASTIME. 



ILLUSTRATED WITH SIXTY ENGRAVINGS, 



By the Author of "Fireside Games,'* "Book of Five Hundred Puzzles," 
"The Parlor Magician," "Paelou Tricks with Cards" Etc. 



i^U- 



uy 



NEW TORKi 

DICK & FITZGERALD, PUBLISHERS, 
No. 18 ANN STREET. 



tro 










Jlr-r.-j/ 



Entered, accordiDg to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, "bj 

DICK & FITZGERALD, 

in. the Clerk-s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern 
District of New York. 



2 3i-0 



«.X 



FIVE HUNDRED RIDDLES 

AND 

HOME AMUSEMENTS. 



PAET I. 



RIDDLES, CHARADES, ENIGMAS, REBUSES, TRANS- 
POSITIONS, AND CONUNDRUMS. 

Among the innocent recreations of the fireside, there are tew 
more commendable and practicable than those afforded bv what 
are severally termed Anagrams, Charades, Conundrums, Enigmas, 
Puzzles, Rebuses, Riddles, Transpositions, etc. 

As it is next to an impossibility to glean from dictionaries the 
precise distinctions between^ and properties of, Enigmas, Charades, 
tfec, T have taken upon myself the task of describing the difi'er- 
ence which does exist, for the enlightenment of all who take an in- 
terest in such matters. You are doubtless aware that Messrs. Web- 
ster, Johnson, and Walker have very considerately informed us that 
— " an enigma is a kind of riddle," — " a riddle is an enigma," — " a 
charade is a riddle, usually in verse," — and that " a rebus is a sort 
of riddle." Now^, w^hat are we to infer from these descriptions, — 
that they are all one and the same thing ? No, certainly not. 
Therefore, with all due deference to those who may think or state 
to the contrary, I will depict that which I consider to be the pre- 
cise nature of each of these words : for that they have every one 
a separate signification I verily believe ; and, with this impression, 
I will do my best to clear away the mist which at present hangs 
over them. 



4 RIDDLES. 

Charades, Rebuses, Conundrums, &c., are with many persons 
favorite recreations. In the construction of several of them, con- 
siderable ingenuity is displayed ; they are not, in all cases, the pro- 
duction of mere witlings and holiday rhymester.3 ; for more than 
one author of celebrity, doubtless, in some of those sportive mo- 
'"ments when the mind relaxes from graver pursuits, to toy and dally 
with comparative trifles, has contributed his mite towards the 
great fund of riddles now in circulation. One of the most clever 
and best written among the following collection has been ascribed 
to the pen of the late Lord Bryon : — we allude to the lines on the 
letter H. A work of this size does not contain a tithe of all the 
Enigmas, Charades, &c., now current; we have therefore endea- 
vored to mate a judicious selection of a few from the mass. 



RIDDLES. 

It may be asked, What is a riddle ? — Ah ! what is it ? that's 
just the rub ! Well, then, it is a queer afiair, without shape, size, 
humanity, compassion, breath, or sex. It is caressed, abused, 
courted, slighted, jostled, hostled, — and, notwithstanding all that 
is said against it, universally looked upon as a welcome guest when 
it is not in a dull mood. The oldest riddle on record is that put 
forth by Samson (Judges xiv. 14) — " Out of the eater came forth 
meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness." His solution 
is well known, as it is explained in the same chapter. 

No doubt there are many riddles which should have been handed 
down to posterity, that deserved this distinction, — but that as- 
cribed to Cleobulus, one of the seven wise men of Greece, de- 
erves to be recorded : it is said to have been composed about the 
year 705 b. c. ^^ There is a father, with twice six sons : these sons 
have thirty daughters a-piece, parti-colored, having one cheek white 
and the other black, who never see each other's face, nor live 
above twenty-four hours." His solution was " The year." 

How we have puzzled over some of the good old riddles of 
yore, and when their solutions have been whispered, half in mirth 



RIDDLES. 5 

and half in fear at our wrath, we have laughed at our very stupid- 
ity, and wondered how any person could fail to discover them. 

What a batch now crowd upon us — 'tis fearful to contemplate ! 
But we shall dash them off as they pass m review, commencing 
with — 

1. 
M. Voltaire's Riddle. 

What is the longest and yet the shortest thing in the world ; 
the swiftest, and the most slow ; the most divisible, and the most ex- 
tended ; the least valued, and the most regretted ; without which 
nothing can be done ; which devours every thing, however small, 
and yet gives life and spirit to all things, how^ever great ? 

2. 

My number, definite and known, 

Is ten times ten, told t^n times o'er ; 
Though half of me is one alone, 

And half exceeds all count and score. 

3. 

I am the centre of gravity, hold a capital situation in Vienna, 
and as I am foremost in every victory, am allowed by all to be in- 
valuable. Always out of tune, yet ever in voice ; invisible, though 
clearly seen in the midst of a river. I have three associates in 
vice, and could name three who are in love with me. Still it is in 
vain you seek me, for I have long been in heaven, and even own 
lie embalmed in the grave. 

4. 

Four people sat down in one evening to play: 

They played all that eve and parted next day. 

Could you think, when you're told, as thus they all sat, 

No other played with them, nor was there one bet : 

Yet, when they rose up, each gained a guinea, 

Tho' none of them lost to the amount of a penny. 

5. 
Here is a riddle which is old, but good, and may be new to some 
of our readers. We will introduce it, making a few alterations, such 
as we deem improvements: — 



6 RIDDLES. 

The "Wonderful Prophet. 

To be seen at Westchester, near New York, a strange and wonder- 
ful prophet, whose generation was before the creation of Adam. He 
was not the Wandering Jew, nor the son of Noah, nor the old 
Levite, nor John the Baptist; for he was certainly before them all. 
The Scriptures make mention of him, particularly in St. Mark, 
St. Luke, and St. John ; so that we may believe that he is no im- 
postor. He knows not his parents ; he never lay upon his mother's 
breast ; his beard is such as no man ever wore. He goes bare- 
footed, like a grave friar. He wears no hat in winter or summer, 
but often appears with a crown upon his head. His coat is nei- 
ther knit nor spun, silk nor hair, linen nor woollen. He is a tee- 
totaller. He prefers an humble dwelling to a palace. He is very 
watchful. He sleeps not in bed, but sits in a singular kind of 
chair, with his clothes on. He was with Noah in the Ark, and 
was alive at the Crucifixion. Nearly all the world hear him. He 
once preached a short sermon, which convinced a man of his sins, 
and caused him to weep most bitterly. Though he never rides on 
horseback, he is in some respects equipped as horsemen are. He is 
an advocate for early rising, though he never retires to bed. His 
prophecies are so true, that the moment you hear his voice, you 
may know what is approaching. Now who is this prophet, and 
what doth he foretell ? 

6. 

Sir T. Wyatt, the author of the following two riddles, holds a 
place among our EngHsh poets. He was the friend of the 
accomplished Earl of Surrey, and was considered a brilliant orna- 
ment of the court of Henry the Eighth, by whom he was employed 
as envoy to more than one European court. His son was exe- 
cuted for rt^bellion in the reign of Mary. 

A lady gave me a gift she had not, 
And I received her gift which I took not. 
She gave it willingly and yet she would not ; 
And I received it, albeit I could not. 



RIDDLES. 7 

If she give it me I force not, 
And if she take it again I grieve not. 
Consider what this is and tell not, 
For I am fast sworn, I may not 

1. 

Yulcan my father, Minerva me taught, 
Nature my mother ; craft nourished me year by year, 
Three bodies are my food ; my strength it is naught. 
Anger, wrath, waste, and noise are my children dear. 
G-uess, friend, what am I, and how I am wrought ; 
Monster of sea or land, or of elsewhere ? 
Know me, and use me, and I may thee defend, 
But if I be thine enemy I may thy life end. 

8. 

Perfect with a head, perfect without a head, perfect with a tail, 
perfect without a tail, perfect with either, neither, or both. 



9. 

My head and tail both equal are, 

My middle slender as a bee. 
Whether I stand on head or heel 

'Tis aU the same to you or me ; 
But if my head should be cut off, 

The matter's true, although 'tis strange, / 

My head and body severed thus, \ 

Immediately to nothing change. 



10. 

Beneath the skies a creature once did dwell, — 
So sacred writers unto us do tell. 
He lived, he breathed, in this vain world, 'tis true, 
Though he ne'er sinn'd, or any evil knew ; 

He never shall in Heaven's high kingdom dwell 
Or e'er be doomed to feel the pangs of Hell ; 
Yet in him an immortal soul there was 
That must be damned — or, live among the just. 



RIDDLES. 



11. 



What is that which everj one can divide, but no one can see 
where it has been divided ? 

12. 

What is that which we receive without thanks ? which we en- 
joy without knowing how? which we bestow on others without 
knowing where it is to be found ? and which we lose without being 
sensible of its loss ? 

13. 

Hold up your hand, and you will see what you never did see, 
never can see, and never will see. What is this ? 

14. 

There is a word of three syllables, from which, if you take 
away five letters, a male will remain ; if you take away four, a fe- 
male will be conspicuous ; if you take away three, a great man will 
appear ; and the whole word presents you with a great woman. 
What is this word ? 

15. 

Name two English words, one of which, being of one syllable 
only, shall contain more letters than the other of five syllables. 

16. 
Which English word contains the greatest number of letters ? 

I'Z. 

What English word is that, the letters of which, three in num- 
ber, may be placed in any order, and at each transposition form a 
well-known word ? 

18. 

What word of six letters admits of five sucoessivfe elisions, 
leaving at each abbreviation a well-known word ? 



EIDDLES. 9 

19. 

What word of six letters contains six words besides itself, 
without transposing a letter ? 

20. 
Which were made first, elbows or knees? 

21. 
What is majesty deprived of its externals ? 

22. 

If a woman were to change her sex, what religion would she be 
of? 

23. 

What thing is that which is lengthened by being cut at both 
ends ? 

24. 

I consist of four letters. Multiply my first by five, and you will 
find my last ; halve my first^ and place the half as my third ; my 
second is a figure of itself worthless ; my lohole has no place in 
the name of the book in which this appears. 

25. 

There are two words only in our language wherein the five 
vowels follow in successive order. Which are they ? 

26. 

There are two youths mentioned in Scripture, who, in dcp;rees 
of consanguinity, were so remarkably circumstanced, that their 
father was their grandfather — their mothers were their sisters — 
their sisters were aunts — and they were each other's uncles ! 
Who were thev ? 



10 CHARADES. 



27. 



What word is that composed of five letters^ from which, if you 
take two, one remains ? 

28. 

Is there a word in the English language that contains all the 
vowels ? 

29. 
What is that which we often return yet never borrow ? 

30. 
What is that which cats have, but nothing else has ? 

31. 

What is that which makes every thing visible but is itself un- 
seen ? 

32. 

f How many soft-boiled eggs could the giant Goliah eat upon 
/ an empty stomach ? 

33. 

What is that which is often brought to table, often cut but 
never eaten ? 



CHARADES. 



The Charade is a poetical or other composition, founded upon 
a word, each syllable of w hich constitutes a nourij and the whole 
of which word constitutes another noun of a somewhat diflferent 
meaning from those supplied by its separate syllables. Words 



CHAKADES. 1 1 

whicli fally answer tliese conditions are the best for the purposes 
of charades ; though many other words are employed. In writ- 
ing, the first syllable is termed " My Jtrst^'^^ the second syllable, 
" Af?/ second,^^ and the complete word, " My whoUy The follow- 
ing is an example of a poetical charade : 

Tlie breath, of the morning is sweet ; 

The earth is bespangled with flowers ; 
And buds in a countless array 

Have oped at the touch of the showers. 

The birds, whose glad voices are ever 

A music delightful to hear, 
Seem to welcome the joy of the morning 

As the hour of the bridal draws near. 

What is that which now steals on my firs% 

Like a sound from the dream-land of love, 
And seems wandering the valleys among — 

That they may the nuptials approve ? 

'Tis a sound which my second explains, 

And it comes from a sacred abode, 
And it merrily trills as the villagers throng 

To greet the fair bride on her road. 

How meek is her dress, how befitting a bride, 

So beautiful, spotless, and pure ; 
When she weareth my second^ oh, long may it be 

Ere her heart shall a sorrow endure. 

See the ghttering gem that shines forth from her hair, 

'Tis my whole which a good father gave, 
'Twas worn by her mother with honor before — 

But she sleeps in peace in her grave. 

'Twas her earnest request as she bade them adieu, 
That when her dear daughter the altar drew near, 

She should wear the same gem that her mother had worn 
When she, as a bride, ftill of promise stood there. 

The answer is Ear-ring, The bells ring, the sound steals upon 
the ear^ and the bride wears an ear-ring. Charades may be sen- 
timental or humorous, in poetry or prose ; they may also be acted, 
in which manner they afford considerable amusement. 



12 CHAEADES. 



In various states I exist ; and when Morn 

Is painting the clouds, I lend him my aid; 
In autumn the spider's frail web I adorn ; 

I am found in the streamlet when daylight doth fade. 

'Mid the Alps, in their wonderful glaciers I'm found ; 

In fhe ice of the Poles — ^in the shade of a well — 
In the many-hued Iris — I surely abound ; 

In the beautiful tears of compassion I dweU. 

Of the nectar, far-famed of the gods, I was part ; 

I dwell in the joy- giving words of the earth ; 
I dwell in each flower, and I dwell in man's heart ; 

And I dweU in the mists which at morn have their birth. 

Thus various mj first Now my second'' s a game, 

Indulged in by many — too many, I fear — 
Whose fortunes are ruined ; they, covered with shame, 

Suffer agony wild as their homes they draw near. 

To think of the dear ones — their happiness gone — 
The wife broken-hearted,' hence homeless and poor ; 

All ruined by folly too frequently showm, 

To deeds such as this doth this second allure ! 

"When raj first and my second are joined, you'll perceive 
The name of a battle-field, glorious, but dread, 

For thousands were caused by its carnage to grieve 

For their kinsmen, whose blood in that battle was shed. 



The Lovely Alice. 
The lovely Alice has dressed her hair ; 
Her form is sylph-like — her face is fair : 
To meet her the gay young knight advances ; 
Asks for her hand through various dances ; — 
Asks for her hand for " ever and a day," 
Ajid trembles lest my first her lips should say. 

The gay young knight calls forth his steed. 
Of Arab race, of purest breed ; 
Hopes his fair Alice will accept the horse, 
Made for liis dear to canter o'er the course, 



CHARADES. 13 

Free from all blemish — a splendid creature reckoned, 
And vows in him she'll never find my second. 

The lovely AMce looks with eager eye 
Upon the steed — his paces longs to try. 
My second mention not, she says, " I've tried 
Successfully to curb a courser's pride ; 
In such I ne'er can be esteemed my whole — 
Leave that to nuns — I'll tame his fiery souL" 



A plunge is heard — ^he will drown, he will sink ; 
He calls for my first, oh ! haste to the brink. 
A ship at that moment appears in view ; 
My second is there amongst the crew. 
The man is saved, and at once doth exclaim, 
Ah 1 my vjhole will rejoice to embrace me again; 
For she's a companion whom I ever find. 
In joy or in sorrow, most loving and kind. 



Two gamblers were '' sitting" 

Striving to cheat each other. 
And, by a cunning trick, my last 

Had raised a fearful bother. 
The one who lost he looked my first, 

But he who won assumed my whole, 
Which little did the luckless one 

Amid his bitter grief console. 
Since both were rogues, we will not screen them — 
There was not my second to choose between them. 

5. 

^Ij Jirst often contains my second ; my second often dreads my 
Mst ; and thongh tliere is not a possibility of its following, runs 
away from it. By the account of many, my ivhole will never be 
BO happy as in its present condition. 



My first, nor book nor volume named 
Contains more leaves than most ; 



14 CHAEADES. 

My next^ when certain crops are claimed, 

Still stalks a numerous host : 
My whole — a creeping flower so fair, — 
Eegales the eye and scents the air. 



My first is to ramble ; my next to retreat : 
My whole oft enrages in summer's fierce heat. 

8. 

Mj first do all nurses possess, 
And dandle my second upon it ; 

My whole VA a part of the dress 
Attached to the cap or the bonnet. 



My first oft preys upon my second : 
My whole a bitter shrub is reckoned. 

10. 

My first in fruit is seldom rare ; 

My second all relations are : > 

My whole is only earthenware. 

11. 

My first dreads ray second^ for my second destroys my first, 
while many delight in my whole, 

12. 

In every hedge my second is, 

As well as every tree ; 
And when poor school-boys act amiss, 

It often is their fee. 

My first, likewise, is always wicked^ 

Yet ne'er committed sin : 
My total for my first is fitted, 

Composed of brass or tin. 



CHAEADES. Ih 

13. 

My firsfs a prop, my second's a prop, and my whole^s a prop. 

14. 

What I do, what I do not, and what you are. 

15. 

My first is equality ; my second^ inferiority ; my whole ^ supe- 
riority. 

16. 

He can seldom obtain my firsts who labors for my second ; and 
few like to do my whole, 

17. 

My first is of no use without my second / and my whole is to 
be seen every day in Broadway. 

18. 

My first is wise and foolish ; my second^ the physician's study ; 
my loholey the pleasantest ornament of a house. 

19. 

M J first communicates to the human race joy and soitoav, love 
and hate, hope and despair ; my second retains what is gross, and 
rejects what is delicate ; my whole is reflective. 

20. 
My whole is under my second, and surrounds my first. 

21. 

When you stole mj firsty I lost my second ; and I wish you 
may ever -possess my whole. 



1 6 CHARADES. 



22. 



A.ddresssd by the Bight Hon. Charles Fox to the Duke of If orthum- 

berland. 

I'll employ mj first in praise of my second^ if you'll give me 
ray whole. 

23. 
A Letter— By Mr. Fox. 

Permit me, madam, with the profoundest respect, for once to 
come uncalled into your presence, and, by dividing myself, add 
greatly to my consequence. 

So exalted am I in the character of my first, that I have 
trampled upon the pride of kings ; and the greatest potentates 
upon earth have bowed down to embrace me; yet the dirtiest 
kennel, in the dirtiest street, is not too foul to have me for its 
inmate. 

In my second, what infinite variety ! I am rich as the eastern 
Nabob, yet poor as the weeping object of your benevolence — I 
am mild and gentle as the spring, yet savage as the wintry blast — 
I am young, beautiful, and blooming, yet deformed and wretched. 
From the highest authority, madam, I dare prove I am your su- 
perior, though few are the instances that prove it, and ten thou- 
sand the proofs against it. I am ; but you are tired, and 

wish my re-union ; it is done, and my consequence is lost, and 
I have no other merit than remaining, as at first, your most obe- 
dient servant, The Whole. 

24. 

My first^ the source of wit and mirth supreme, 
With thee, my friends, 'tis pleasant to enjoy ; 

Oh ! may my next with wholesome plenty teem, 
Free from those things that tempt but to destroy 

And ma}^ my whole no sordid hoard contain, 
No hidden bag — no dainty mouldering lie — 

By avarice taught inactive to remain, 
And feed alone the greedy miser's eye I 



CHARADES. 17 

25, 

Three mighty powers affect mankind, 
Three mighty things I trow they be ; 
The first a gift — a free-will r#;ant ; 
The next a wish, or else a want; 
A loss, the last of all the three. 

The first, a gift vdthont consent 
Yet prized above all things below; 
'Tis like a wave — 'tis like a flower — 
'Tis like a dream — or like an hour ; 
it brings us joy, and brings us v/oe. 

The first and second still produce 
The one the other, mutually ; 
The second, — like the honey sweet — 
Like glowing beams of summer's heat ; 
Yet bringeth cares and misery. 

Or with, or yet vrithout the first, 
My lohole could no existence find ; 
^Tis hke a ghost — 'tis like a sleep ; 
It ends our pains, and m.akes ns weep ; 
It ends the woes of all mankinds 

26. 

His heart was sad, and his foot was sore. 
When a stranger knocked at the cottager's door; 
With travel faint, as the night fell down. 
He had missed his way to the nearest tov/n, 
And he prayed for water to quench his thirsty 
And he showed his purse as he asked for w.x fi.rsL 
The cotter was moved by the stranger's tale, 
He spread the board, and he poured the ale : 
" The river," he said, " flows darkly do^Ti 
Betwixt your path and the hghted town, 
And far from hence its stream is crossed 
By the bridge on the road that you have lost ; 
Gold may not buy, till your weary feet 
Have traversed the river and reached the street, 
The thing you ask ; but the wandering moon 
Will be out in the sky with her lantern soon ; 
Then cross o'er the meadow, and look to the right, 
And you'll find my second by her light." 



18 ENIGMAS. 

, Mj second shone like a silver floor, 

When the traveller passed from the cotter's door; 
He saw the towD on its distant ridge, 
Yet he sighed no more for the far-off bridge ; 
And his \yish of the night soon gained its goal^ 
Tor he found my fir si when he reached my 'wholt. 



ENIGMAS. 

Enigmas are compositioDs of a different character, based upon 
ideas rather than upon words, and fiequeBtly constructed so as to 
mislead, and to surprise when the solution is made known. Enig- 
mas may be founded upon simple catches, like Conundrums, in 
which form they are usually called Riddles, such as — 

" Though Jon set me on foot, 
I shaU be on my head." 

The answer is, A nail in a shoe. 

The following enigma and its history, which is given in " Sirr's 
Ceylon," deserves to be more generally known, as it was composed 
by one of the native Ceylonese kings, Kumara Dhas, a prince of 
gi^eat learning, who reigned a. d. 517 ; and it illustrates the pecu- 
liar style of the time. Both riddle and answer are looked upon 
as master-pieces, as the number and position of the letters in the 
original, in both enigma and reply, strictly agree, the latter being 
written by Kalidhas, the celebrated poet and Mend of the mon- 
arch. Naturally in translation the peculiar beauty is lost, but we 
give it as a curious and interesting poetical specimen. 

The riddle of Kumara Dhas : — 

*^ By beauty's grasp, in turmoil uncomposed, 
He is kept a prisoner, but with eyes unclosed." 

The elucidation by the poet Kalidhas : — 

"Although closed at night the lotus keeps the bee, 
The dawn will see him gay, unhurt, and free." 



EIS-IGMAS. 19 

The circumstance whicli occasioned these lines is thus recorded 
in the native annals : — The King was in the habit of visiting a fe- 
male, celebrated alike for her wit, beauty, and captivating manners ; 
and one evening, whilst in her company, remarked a bee alight on 
a pink lotus, which closed upon and imprisoned the insect. The 
monarch immediately wrote the two lines on the wall, intending to 
compare his own situation with that of the captive bee, as he was 
enthralled by the woman's wdles ; stating that whoever would com- 
plete the stanza should have any request granted which they might 
choose to prefer. Shortly after the monarch quitted the female's 
abode, Kalidhas, w^ho was also in the habit of visiting the house, 
entered, and seeing the writing on the wall, immediately concluded 
the verse in the same style. The wretched woman, to obtain the 
promised reward, murdered the poet and buried him under the 
floor. But when the monarch saw the reply, he immediately rec- 
ognized the style and writing of his favorite, Kalidhas. The mur- 
der was discovered, the corpse disinterred, and, by order of the 
king, a most magnificent pile was prepared, w^hereon the body was 
to be burned wdth all the rites and ceremonies which belonged sole- 
ly to royalty. When the funeral pyre w^as ignited, the grief and 
mental agony of Kumara Dhas, at the loss of his friend, overcame 
all other feelings, and he rushed into the flames, and was consumed 
wdth the body of the poet Kalidhas. History also recorded that 
the five queens of Kumara Dhas voluntarily immolated themselves 
on the same spot shortly afterwards ; and we believe this to be 
the only record of royal widows in Ceylon sacrificing themselves at 
the tomb of their spouses. 

1. 

Ancient Enigma. 
The ancients fabled a monster whom they named the Sphixx, 
and whom they described as having the head and breasts of a 
woman, the body of a dog, the tail of a serpent, the wings of a 
bird, the paw^s of a lion, and a human voice. This monster, it 
was said, was sent into the neighborhood of Thebes by Juno, who 
wished to punish the family of Cadmus. It was further stated, 



20 ENIGMAS. 

that he laid this part of Boeotia under continual alarms, hy proposing 
Enigmas^ and devouring the inhabitants if unable to explain thera. 
Also, that as the calamity of this monster was become an object 
of public concern, and as the successful explanation of an enigma 
would end in the death of the Sphinx, Creon promised his crown 
and Jocasta to him who succeeded in the attempt. The enigma 
proposed was this : — 

" What animal in the morning walks on four feet, at noon on 
two, and in the evening on three?" 

(Edipus solved the enigma — on which the monster dashed his 
head against a rock, and perished. 



My aunt, at her mansion on Mulberry G-reen, 

Was a kind-hearted ladj as ever was seen ; 

Por true hospitality, friendship, and mirth, 

There was not a more good-natured creature on earth. 

She wrote to me thus: — " My dear Nephew, come dowLu 

You need relaxation from duties in town ; 

Dogs, horses, and guns, at your service shall be, 

If you like to enjoy a snug fortnight with me. 

But as I (upon second thoughts) think you'll prefer 

A young friend, to a ' crusty old woman like me,' 

You may bring one or two good companions — and all 

Shall find a warm welcome at Mulberry Hall." 

"Well, T thought, such a kind invitation as this 
(With such pleasures in prospect) t'were folly to miss ; 
So with cheerful Bob Goodwill and Theodore Bright, 
I spent the first week in incessant delighte 
And said, " Aunt, I have profited finely, you see. 
By the friendly indulgence you granted to me ; 
I have strictly adhered to your liberal tone. 
And have made your nice house and your servants my own." 
Three words, of one syllable each, she replied, 
And I canter'd ofi" briskly — my blushes to hide. 

I soon joined my friends, and the hounds in full cry, 
And no one could feel more dehghted than I. 
The breeze was refreshing — 'the sun's early ray 
Was expanding around into beautiful day ; 



ENIGMAS. 21 

The scent of the "woodbine, the lark in loud song, 
So charmed me, as (heedless) I galloped along. 
That, careless of all but the hounds and the horns, 
We fell in a ditch full of briers and thorns. 

With scrambling, and kicking, and palling, my horse 
Was soon out of this awkward dilemma — -of course 
But, alas ! in the struggle I nearly was stript, 
And every seam in my coat was unript. 

My mortification at seeing my aunt, 
(In my woful condition) describe it I can't ; 
She laughed, as my prison I made my way through, 
And held out my coat, and said, " What shall I do ?" 

Her reply was the very same words as before 
Pronounced — the real words are for you to explore. 

3. 

Enigma by Lord Bryon. 

'Twas whispered in heaven, it was muttered in hell, 
And echo caught faintly the sound as it feU : 
On the confines of. earth 'twas permitted to rest, 
And the depths of the ocean its presence confessed. 
'Twill be found in the sphere when 'tis riven asunder. 
Be seen in the lightning and heard in the thunder. 
'Twas allotted to man with his earliest breath. 
Attends at his birth, and awaits him in death ; 
It presides o'er his happiness, honor, and health, 
Is the prop of his house, and the end of. his wealth. 
Without it the soldier and seaman may roam, 
Bat woe to the wretch who expels it from home. 
In the whispers of conscience its voice will be found ; 
j^or e'en in the whirlwind of passion be dro-^Tied. 
'Twill not soften the heart, and tho' deaf to the ear, 
'Twill make it acutely and instantly hear. 
But in shade let it rest, like a delicate flower — 
Oh, breathe on it softly — it dies in an hour. 

4. 

Enigma by Cowper, 
I am just two and two, I am warm, I am cold, 
And the parent of numbers that cannot be told; 
I'm lawfully unlawful, a duty, a fault, 



22 ENIGMAS. 

Exceeding dear, good for nothing when bought ; 
An extraordinary boon, and a matter of course, 
And yielded with pleasure when taken by force. 



Five simple letters do compose my frame ; 
And, what is singular, when viewed, my name 
Forwards and backwards will be found the same ; 
When I'm discovered, you will plainly see 
What the proud peer and peasant soon will be. 



A shining wit pronounced, of late, 
That every acting magistrate 
Is water in a freezing state. 

7. 

Formed long ago, yet made to-day, 
Employed while others sleep ; 

What few would ever give away, 
Or any wish to keep. 

8. 
Formed half beneath and half above the earth, 
We, sisters, owe to art a second birth ; 
The smith's and carpenter's adopted daughters, 
Made on the earth to travel o'er the waters. 
Swifter we move, as tighter we are bound, 
Yet neither touch the water, air, nor ground. 
We serve the poor for use, the rich for whim. 
Sink when it rains, and when it freezes, swim. 

9. 

Fm rough, I'm smooth, I'm wet, I'm dry ; 
My station low, my title high ; 
The king my lawful master is ; 
I'm used by all, though only his. 

10. 

There is a thing was three weeks old, 
When Adam was no more : 



EXIGMAS, 23 

This thing it was but four weeks old, 
When Adam was fourscore. 

IL 

We are two brothers, born together, who seldom touch the 
earth, though we often go to the ground ; although we never eat 
fodder, buy, sell, or barter, we may be said to be mterested in the 
corn laws. 

12. 

Never still for a month, but seen mostly at night, 

13, 

In spring, I am gay in my attire ; in summer, I wear more 
clothing than in spring ; in winter, I am naked, 

14, 

Unsolved Enigma. 
Fm short and Tm tall, I'm broad and I'm narrow; 
Like a ram's-horn I'm curled, and yet straight as an arrow; 
Tm not in the water, and yet I declare 
That I can't live on earth, and I die in the air; 
And for fire — I be burnt if I ever go there J 
You would faint but to see me, so hideous my face is ; 
Yet my features are fair as a juvenile's gr«'>.ces ! 
My voice is a roar, yet so sweet is its flowing, 
It sets every bosom with ecstasy glowing. 
My youth would enchant e"'en the stoutest beholder, 
And yet Tm as old as the world is — and older ! 
To describe myself ferther there's little requiring, 
To your patience and mine, 'twould be equally tirmg: 
Yet, ere I cease rhyming, this liint let me give ye. 
And then to your guessing, at once I shall leave ye: 
Imagine all opposites, all that most strange is, 
A tiling still the same, through a million of changes ; 
Which at once can in New York and Tartary be: 
And if such you discover — ^be sure it is me. 

15, 
The following Enigma has been attributed to a late Archbishop 



24 EiaGMAS. 

of Canterbury, It is said to have a meaning, whicli no one inde- 
pendent of tke author has been able to solve : — - 
I sit high on a rock when I'm raising the wind, 
But the storm once abated, I'm gentle and kind ; 
I have kings at my feet who wait but mj nod, 
To lie low in the dust where my footsteps have trod ; 
I never have been but one night in the dark, 
And that was with Noah afloat in the ark ; 
I've been often on earth, but am known but to few, 
The Gentile detests me — ^I'm pork to the Jew ; 
My weight is three pounds ; my length is a mile. 
But when you have found me, youll say with a smile- 
That my first and my last are the best in the Isle. 

16, 

By George Canning'. 

There is a word of plural number, 
Foe to peace and tranquil slumber. 
JSTow, any word you choose to take, 
By adding s you plural make ; 
But if an s you add to this, 
Strange is the metamorphosis, 
Plural is plural then no more, 
And sweet what bitter was before. 

11. 

In fair Creation's dawn I was on earth, 
Skimmed o'er the flood — roved o'er the mountain brow ; 

In Eden's groves I played at Adam's birth. 
And near that spot, so hidden, hover now. 

My colors merry as the rainbow's dyes, 
My form as various as the shadows gray ' 

In early hours that see the sun arise. 
Or Eve's cool moments at the close of day. 

I dwell with diamonds in Golconda^s mine ; 
My life is wrapt in shades of darkest hue ; 

I peep through leaves and tendrils of the vine, 
And all may see me in th' ethereal blue. - 

I stand on pinnacles of towering height, 
Enter Eartli's deep recess at man's control ; 



ENIGMAS. 25 

In battle-fields I mark the cannon's flight, 
And hold my place till darkness shrouds the whole. 

My influence over man is far and T\ide : 
On sea, — in every land, he owns my power; 

And yet I aid him in each hour of need, 
And Pleasure yield him m his gloomiest hour. 

I dwelt in Eden, as I said before^ 
And yet as then I was, I am to-day ; 

Perhaps, — but yet I must not tell thee more — 
Reader, you value me — what am I, say ? 

18. 

T am always in trouble, yet always in joy ; 
I am always in poverty, yet ne'er out of employ ; 
Though you view me in terror, I'm naught you need fear, 
'Tis but once in a month that I ever appear. 

I have been in confinement a great length of time — 
In aU prisons and dungeons, and yet not in crime ; 
Tou have seen me alone, I will venture to teD, 
And you've seen me in thousands and millions as weU : 
Yet when to your view is this riddle unfurled, 
Tou^ll be free to confess there's but one in the world, 

19. 

A Vision. 
It was on a cold frosty evening, when the wind whistled 
round the corners of the house, and roared down the chimney, 
that I sat in my old arm-chair reading. I laid down my book, 
and with an inexpressible sense of comfort, gazed in the 'fire. 
Gradually my mind wandered ; the faces my imagination had 
pictured in the fire became more and more indistinct, till at last 
1 fell into a kind of waking dream. Methought I saw before 
me a wilderness, where the wild beast roamed free in the endless 
solitudes, and grass and weeds grew unrestrained; where the 
birds built their nests in the oak and beech trees which towered 
above the rest, and feared not the encroaching hand of man. 
But an old veteran, whose hair was gray, and whose body was 
2 



26 ENIGMAS. 

bent by the weight of years, came by. He looked on the waste, 
and waved his staff on high. When I looked again, I saw the 
huge monarchs of the forest falling beneath the stroke of the 
axe; and where once stood a giant oal^ now stood an emigrant's 
hut, and several little children were playing before the door. 
Again the staff waved — the hut had disappeared — the trees en- 
cumbered the ground no more ; for in their place stood cottages, 
corn-fields, and ploughed lands. The husbandmen were busy at 
work, some sowing, and some following the plough. The little 
children I had seen before were noAv grown to manhood, and 
tilled lands of their own. Once more the old man flourished his 
staff — what a change did I see 1 Corn-fields, cottages, husband- 
men, and all had vanished, and their place was occupied by a 
large manufacturing town. The streets resounded with the din 
of carts and carriages ; bells toiled from steeples of magnificent 
churches ; and where once existed a swamp was now a noble 
edifice. Day and night the manufactories echoed with the busy 
hum of labor and the song of the artisan. But was there no 
alloy to this pleasurable scene ? Alas ! that I should record it ! 
There was ; and in the place of soberness, cleanliness, and inno- 
cence, there were drunkenness, poverty, and filth, and theft, and 
murder ! Alas ! that these crimes should pollute the track of 
civilization — but so it is. I awoke, and with the first sensations 
of my dream, there had gone out my fire, and the lamp was 
fiickering and nearly extinguished ; so I hurried shivering to 
bed. Reader, who was the old man I saw in my dream ? While 
seeing him, I was losing him ; and when I had again found him, 
I had lost him. 



20. 

Not room, but loss of room by me is got ; 
Yet jou will have no room where I am not ; 
To give you comfort is my end and plan, 
In cold to shelter you, in heat to fan. 
I am at once a thoroughfare and screen, 
And in all families act as go-between. 



ENIGMAS. 27 

On other strength I still depend and hinge, 
But, though I shut and open, never cringe ; 
My common size is seven feet high by three, 
Yet all mankind pass and repass by me. 

21. 

Four things there are, all of a height, 
One of them crooked, the rest upright. 
Take three away, and you will find 
Exactly ten remains behind. 
But if you cut the four in twain. 
You'll find one-half doth eight retain. 

22, 

I am seen in the desert and found in the haU, 
And Adam beheld me long after his fall ; 
I sleep in the pyramids vast, and the hill 
Where the ark found a refuge containeth me stiU. 

I was long seen at Nineveh — Egypt's my own ! 
The prophets have made me their moral and crown. 
I care not for potentate, heed not the wise. 
My name is as old as the earth or the skies. 

The meanest of slaves and the proudest of kings 
May become as myself on the moth's silken wings ; 
I am what I make, and create what I am ; 
Behold me an inmate of Isis and Cam ! 

For with lore of the sages I love to reside. 
And oft clothe with a garment the offspring of pride ; 
I am known in all climates — I sweep with the gale, 
Over desert and mountain, and always prevail. 

With the dead I lie down and contentedly sleep. 
While maidens above me assemble to weep ; 
I'm the spring of all life and the winter of fame — 
Ye sibyls domestic, come teU me my name. 

23. 

In every gift of fortune I abound. 

In me is every vice and virtue found ; 

With black, and blue, and green, myself I paint, 

With me an atheist stands before a saint ; 



28 ENIGMAS. 

Far before nature I make art precede, 
And before sovereigns give the poor the lead ; 
Many who bear the name of learned and wise, 
Did I not help them, jou would oft despise. 

Nay more ; without my grasp, together bound, 
The king, the beggar, and the noble's found. 
In one thing I excel the proudest lord — 
You always may depend upon my word. 

24. 

I never was, but always am to be ; 

None ever saw me — you may never see ; 

And yet I am the confidence of all 

Who live and breathe on this terrestrial ball. 

The princely heir, his honors not yet blown. 
Still looks to me for Ms expected throne ; 
The miser hopes I shall increase his wealth ; 
- The sick man prays me to restore his health. 

The lover trusts me for his destined bride ; 
And all who hopes or wishes have beside. 
Now name me, but confide not, for believe 
That you and every one I still deceive. 

25. 

I have a face, eyes, nose, mouth, and ears ; yet I see not — 
smell nothing — taste nothing, and hear nothing. When my eyes 
are directed to you I see nothing. Made by a sunbeam, I am 
destroyed by a sweep of the hand. In darkness was I born, 
• and I never saw the light. I am to be found on the most fash- 
ionable promenades, and in almost every parlor. I am but a 
shadow, yet I am capable of reflection. If it were not for light 
I'd never be, yet one-half of you don't know it. 

26. 

Two men, with their two wives and two sons, stand thus re- 
lated to each other: the men are each other's fathers and sons, 
their wives' fathers and husbands, and their children's fathers 



ENIGMAS. 29 

and grandfathers; the women are the children's mothers and 
sisters, and the boys are uncles to each other. How can this 
be, and yet the parties be lawfully married ? 

27. 

Five hundred begins it, five hundred ends it, 

Five in the middle is seen ; 
The first of all letters, the first of all figures, 

Take up their stations between. 
My whole was a king of veiy great fame ; 
If you wish to know who, you here have his name. 

28. 

Figures, they say, won't lie ; but here 

Is something either false or queer. 

I find that, in my family, 

One taken from two still leaves me three, 

And two from two, by the same score. 

Leaves a remainder of just four. 

29. 

What is that which, supposing its greatest breadth to be four 
inches, length nine inches, and depth three inches, contains a 
solid foot ? 

30. 

'Tis said of lawyers Grab and Clinch, 

They take an ell when you offer an inch ; 

But I can do a smarter thing — 

Give me an ell, I will make it ring. 

If for advice you come to me 

"When you are iU, I call for the fee. 

If any road you chance to wend, 

You think you've reached the very end, 

I come and give it such a turn, 

Tou find there's something yet to learn ; 

K to the inn you seek for rest, 

I chuck vou in a box or chest. 



30 REBUSES. 

The beggar's rags I make so proud, 
He of his garments boasts aloud. 
The aged and infirm with me 
Lose caution and timidity ; 
For, young or old, to every one 
I furnish, if not muscle, bone. 



EEBUSES. 

Rebuses are a class of enigmas generally formed by the first, 
sometimes tlie first and last, letters of words, or of transpositions 
of letters, or additions to words. Dr. Johnson, however, represents 
Rebus to be a word represented by a picture. And putting the 
Doctor's definition and our own explanation together, the reader 
may glean a good conception of the nature of the Rebus. Ex- 
ample : — 

The father of the Grecian Jove ; 

A httle boy who's blind ; 
The foremost land in all the world ; 

The mother of mankind ; 
A poet whose love-sonnets are 
Still very much admired : — 
The initial letters will declare 
A blessing to the tired. 

Answer — /Saturn ; Zove ; England; jB've ; Petrarch. The inL 
tials form sleep, 

1. 

Take him whose daughter, with a pitying eye. 
Saw the poor babe in cold and danger lie ; 
And in that eye beamed love and mercy mild, 
For she with true compassion saved the child. 

And next that priest who showed such fervent zeal, 
That he the truths of Scripture did reveal ; 
Arranging in their course these books sublime, 
And fixed the holy canon for his time. 



EEBUSES. 3 i 

And now that pious man before us bring, 
"Whose office, cup-bearer to Persians king, 
Had given him wealth and rank, but still his pity 
Was shown in solemn prayer for his poor city. 

And next that scoffer who aloud would call, 
While the poor Jews were building up their wall — 
" That which ye build may soon be overtlirown 
E'en by a fox, though it be made of stone." 

Now that good man of Judah, one of three 
Who would not to the image bow the knee. 
On which the king, with fierce and deadly ire, 
Had cast him bound into the burning fire. 

And next in order now I must require 
Our father Abraham's most honored sire. 

Now that good man who had for forty years 
Judged Israel, but who mourned with bitter tears 
The errors of his sons, their wicked jeers. 

And next that king who ably did preside, 
And governed well and happily, till pride 
Leading him on — a leper was — and died. 

That man of Judah who, by God's command, 
Was sent by Moses to the promised land. 

And lastly, he who did in pieces break — 
Lest others should an idol of it make — 
The brazen serpent, winch by Ood's command 
Had been set up by Moses in the land. 

The initials of these names will bring to mind 

What in the Bible we shall alwaj^s find ; 

But though it does to us much truth impart. 

And is the law, 'tis only found in part 

Of God's own book ; and this you may depend — 

'Tis nearer tlie beginning than the end. 



I've either read, or heard it said, 

That Jupiter one day 
Was sorely vexed, and much perplexed — 

" For what ?" I hear you say. 



"32 REBUSES. 

The case was this : — he'd neither miss 

'Nov master to him born, 
And so, 'twas said, he smote his head, 

Like one that's quite forlorn; 
When straight arose, before his nose, 

A goddess, fair and tall : 
Whom doubtless you can bring to view 

And name her too withal. 

Another name, and one of fame 

(A classic man must own), 
In days of yore this goddess bore, 

In ancient Athens known. 
And by again another name 

This goddess went as well : 
Which you can find, if you're inclined : 

'Tis spelt with double L. 
Now if I'm right, you have in sight 

Initials that will make 
A picture geographical, 

And really no mistake. 

3. 

A hundred and fifty, if rightly applied. 
To a place where the living did once all reside ; 
Or a consonant joined to a sweet singing bird, 
Will give you a name that you've oftentimes heard. 
Which, 'mong your friends, at least one person owns : 
It's the rival of Smith, and as common as Jones. 



To three-fourths of a cross, add a circle complete ; 
Then, let two semi-circles a perpendicular meet ; 
Next, add a triangle that stands on two feet ; 
Then, two semi-circles, and a circle complete. 



ANAGRAMS, 33 



ANAGRAMS. 

Of the various devices for family and social amusement, none 
are more ingenious than anagrams. The term itself is derived 
from two Greek words, ana^ again, back, and gramma^ a letter ; 
and the meaning is, the turning of a word or sentence so as to 
form others. Transposition is another name applied to the same 
pastime, and is equally expressive. On a small scale this is fre- 
quently done. If you have a box of letters, you may take from 
it an L and a Y, and an E and an I, and desire to have made more 
words than there are letters. This sounds strange, but it is easily 
accomplished by transposition of the letters. Live, vile, evil, veil, 
Levi, all consist of the precise letters before us. Or you may take 
two O's, an E, a W, a D, an R, and an N, and desire to have one 
word made. If placed rightly, OXE WORD will be formed. 
But anagrams are far more interesting if the changes of the words 
bear some relation to each other, and yet more when they can be 
made to apply to historical events or characters. 

The making of anagrams has been the pastime of not a few 
of the profoundest minds. To take one word, and by transposing 
all the letters to bring out one or more complete words, is an ex- 
ercise requiring no little ingenuity. Perhaps one of the best is 
that which finds the phrase. Honor est a JVilo, or ^' Honor is from 
the Nile," in the name of its hero, Horatio Nelson. 

The following are some of the most remarkable : 

Transposed forms — 

Astronomers No more stars. 

Catalogues Got as a clue. 

Elegant Neat leg. 

Impatient Tim in a pet. 

Immediately I met my Delia. 

Masquerade Queen as mad. 

Astronomers — Moon-starers. 
Democratical — Comical trade. 
Gallantries — All great sin. 
Lawyers — Sly wares. 

2* 



34 TiiAi!^SPOsmo]srs. 

Misanthrope — Spare Mm not. 
Monarch — March on. 
Old England — G-olden land. 
Punishment — Nine thumps. 
Presbyterian — Best in prayer. 
Penitentiary — Nay I repent it. 
Eadical reform — E-are mad frolic. 
E evolution — To love ruin. 
Telegraphs — Great helps. 



TRANSPOSITIONS. 

Transpositions are a species of anagram, and are sometimes a 
source of mucli fun in the evening circle. The following are 
excellent examples : 

1. 

A gentleman who was paying his addresses to a lady, at length 
summoned up sufficient courage to ask if they were agreeable to 
her, and w^hether he might flatter himself with a chance of ulti- 
mate success. The lady replied — '-' Stripes P'' telling the gentle- 
man to transpose the letters so as to form out of them another 
word, which word w-as her answer. The reader wdio can find out 
the w^ord, needs never fear being nowplussed by a lady ; those who 
cannot must either persist till they overcome the difficulty, or may 
give up all thoughts of wooing. 

2. 

I AM COMPOSED OF SiX LETTERS : 

Without my 1, 2, 3, I am part of a lock. 

Without my 4, I am the miser's god. 

Without my 5, 6, I am a member of the Eoraan Catholic cliurch. 

Without my 1, 4, 5, G, I ran a preposition. 

Without my 2, 3, 4, 5, I am a pronoun. 

Without my 3, 4, 5, 6, I am the initials of one of the United States. 

My whole is an animal of South America. 



COXUNDEUMS. 35 



3. 



Read me aright, I'm useful to cooks ; 

But by transposition, draw boys from their books ; 

Again transposed, then me you would shout 

Most lustily after a thief, IVe no doubt. ; 

Transpose but ones more, and I may be found 

In each street of the city,' both steadfast and sound. 



CONUNDRUMS. 

Conundrums. — These are simple catches, in which the sense is 
playfully cheated, and are generally founded upon words capable 
of double meaning. The followino- are examples : 

1. 

Which are the two smallest insects mentioned in the Scripture ? 

2. 

How is it that Methuselah was the oldest man, when he died 
before his father ? 

3. 

What i^ the difference between Joan of Arc and Noah's 
ark ? 

4. 
Why are sinners like corn and potatoes ? 

5. 
Why are Cashmere shawls like deaf persons ? 

6. 

When a boy falls into the water, what is the first thing he does *• 



SQ CONUNDKUMS. 

Why is a New York milkman like the fish that swallowed 
Jonah? 

8. 

What did Adam and Eve do when they were expelled from 
Eden ? 

9. 
Why is a conundrum like a monkey ? 

10. 
Why is a horse half way through a gateway like a cent? 

11. 
What is the difference between a young girl and an old hat? 

12. 
What grows the less tired the more it works ? 

13. 

How does a pitcher of water differ from a man throwing his 
wife over a bridge ? 

14. 
Why is a watch-dog larger at night than he is in the morning ? 

15. 
, What is the difference between a cashier and a schoolmaster ? 

16. 

Why are stout gentlemen prone to melancholy ? 

17. 

Why is a melancholy young lady the pleasantest of all com- 
panions ? 



18. 

Why was Herodias' daughter the fastest girl mentioned in the 

New Testament ? 

19. 

What did the seven wise men of Greece do when they met the 
sage of Hindoostan ? 

20. 

Why is the letter K like a pig's tail ? 

21. 

Why do old maids wear mittens ? 

22. 
Why is green grass like a mouse ? 

23. 

What is the difference between a grandmother and her infant 
grandchild ? 

24. 
Why does a miller wear a white hat ? 

25. 

Why is a nail, fast in the wall, like an old man ? 

26. 
W^hy are washerwomen the most inconsistent of persons ? 

27. 

What is the difference between killed soldiers and repaired 
garments ? 



38 CONUNDKUMS. 

28. 
Why is a shoemaker like a true lover ? 

29. 
What is the difference between Solomon and Rothschild ? 

30. 
What is the difference between a successful lover and his rival ? 

31. 
What was Eve made for ? 



SOLUTIONS TO THE RIDDLER. 



EIDDLES, 

1. Time. 

2. Thou-sand. 

3. The letter Y. 

4. Four merrj fiddlers played all night, 

To many a dancing ninny; 
And the next morning went away, 
And each received a guinea. 

5. Chanticleer, or the Cock. 

6. A Kiss. 
1. A Gun. 

8. A Wig. 

9. The figure 8. 

10. The fish that swallowed Jonah. 
11.. Water. 

12. Life. 

13. That the little finger is not so long as the middle finger. 

14. He, Her, Hero. Heroine. 

15. Strength — Ideahty. 

16. Disproportionableness. 

It. Ear — Are — Era — Kae — Aer (Latin for air) — Rea(a river). 

18. Brandy — brand — bran — ran — an — a. 

1 9. Herein — he — her — here — ere — rein — in. 

20. Knees — beasts were created before men. 

21. A jest, m-ajest-y. 

22. She would be a he'then. 

23. A Ditch. 

24. Gold. 

25. In ABSTE^nous the five vowels you'll find 

In successive order, as your question enjoined; 
Eut, as for the other. I've not recollected — 
Oh, stay, 'tis facetious, which can't be objected. 



40 



SOLUTIONS. 



26. Moab and Ben-ammi, by Scripture, 'tis clear^ 

Were the sons and the grandsons of Lot, 
Whose mothers, their sisters and aunts also were^ 
Each was uncle to each,-r-was he not ? 

21. Stone. 

28. Yes, unquestionably. 

29. Thanks. 

30. Kittens. 

31. Light. 

32. One, after which his stomach is not empty. 

33. A pack of cards. 





CHARADES. 


1. Water-loo. 


14. Love-ly. 


2. No-vice. 


15. Peer-less. 


3. Help-mate. 


16. Re-store. 


4. G-rim-ace. 


11. Chair-man. 


5. School-boy. 


18. Book-case. 


6. Wood-bine. 


19. Pen-sive. 


1. Gad-fly. 


20. Waist-coat. 


8. Lap-pet. 


21. Hearts-ease. 


9. AYorm-wood. 


22. Pen-sion. 


10. rip-kin. 


23. Foot-man. 


11. Fox-chase. 


24. Cup-board. 


12. Candle-stick. 


25. Life-time. 


13. Foot-stooh 


26. Bed-ford. 



ENIGMAS. 

1. Man: in the morning, or days of infancy, he crawls, or walks on "all 
fours ;" at noon, or m the days of youth and middle age, he uses two feet only ; 
in the evening, or in his old age, he requires the support of a staff, so that he 
may be said to walk upon three feet. 

2. So it seems. — Sew its seams. 

3. The letter H. 

4. A kiss. 

5. Level. 

6. Justice — [just-ice). 
1. A bed. 

8. A pair of skates. 



SOLUTIONS. * 41 

9. Highway. 

10. The moon. 

11. The feet. 

12. The moon. 

13. A tree. 

14. Probable Solution of Enigma 14. 

1. Water may be short and tall, broad and narrow. 

2. The crests of waves are "c^^rZec?.-" water is straight as an arrow when 
at rest. 

3. Water is not in the water, as it is the very substance itself. 

4. Water cannot live on the earth, or in the air, as it sinks into the first, 
and cannot remain in the latter, but soon falls in the form of rain. 

5. This line seems to be a mere threat of never ^^ going to thefirey 

6. The sea is very '^ hideous'^ in a storm, 

7. Yet very beautiful in a calm. 

8. 9. The waves ^^roaf^ in a storm, but ^^ sweetly floiu" in a calm. 

10, 11. In the first chapter of Genesis, we are told that "the Spirit of God 
moved on the face of the waters" before the creation of the world. 

17. Water is stiU the same, through a ^^ million of changes^" and may at 
" once he in New York and Tartaryy 

15. Probable Solution of Enigma 15. 
Firm on the rock of Christ, tho' lowly sprung, 
The Church invokes the Spirit's fiery tongue, 
Whose gracious breathings* rouse but to control 
The storm and struggle in the sinner's soul. 
Haply, erelong his carnal conflicts cease, 

And the storm sinks in faith and gentle peace, 

Elings own its potent sway, and humbly bow, 

The golden diadem upon their brow. 

Its saving voice with mercy speeds to aU, 

But oh ! how few to quicken at its call ! 

Gentiles the favored httle flock detest. 

And Abraham's children spit upon their vest. 

Once only, since Creation's work, has night 

Curtained ^vith darkening clouds its saving Ught, 

What time the Ark majestically rode, 

Unscathed, upon the desolating flood. 

The silver weighedf for it in all its strength. 

For scarce three pounds when counted, whilst its length, 

* The rushing mighty wind. Acts ii. 2. 

t The weight of thirty pieces of silver was, according to Zechariah (chap xi. 12), about 
hree pounds. 



42 SOLUTIONS. 

Traced in the Prophet's view with measuring reed, 
Squared just a mile,* as Rabbis are agreed. 
And now I feel entitled well to smile, 
Since Christ Churchf bears the palm m ail our isle. 
16. Cares-s (Caress). 

IT. Light. The second line of the third verse contains a reference to coalj 
in which, certainly, is the life or first principle of light. 

The second line of the fourth verse refers to the Davj and other lamps car- 
ried into coal-mines. 

18. The letter 0. 

19. Time. 

20. A door. 

21. XIIL, YIIL 

22. Dust. 

23. A Dictionary. 

24. To-morrow. 

25. A Daguerreotype. 

26. The two men had been widowers, and married each other's daughters. 
21. DAYID. 

28. Two children from two parents make 4. 

29. A shoe. 

30. The letter B 

Of ell, it makes bell. 



" in, 


a 


bill. 




" end, 


" 


bend. 




" in, 


a 


bin. 




" rags, 


ii 


brags. 




'' old, 


a 


bold. 




'' one, 


a 


bone. 










EBBUSES. 



1. — 1. Pharaoh. — Genesis n. 9. 

2. Ezra. — Ezra vii. 12 ; see also the note at the end of the Book of 

Ezra, by Dean Prideaux. 

3. Xehemiah. — Nehemiali i. 11, and i. 5 — 11. 

4. Tobiah. — Nehemiali iv. 3. 

5. Abednego. — Daniel iii. 

* Ezekiel, chap. xlii. 20. The square of the temple in the j^ew Jerusalem was 2,000 cu- 
bits, equal to one mile, 
t Christ Church, OAlord, England. 



soLunoisrs. 43 

6. Terah. — Genesis xi. 2Y. 

7. Eli. — 1 Samuel iv. 

8. Uzziah. — 2 Chronicles xxvi. 

9. Caleb. — Numhers xiii. 6 and 17. 

10. Hezekiah. — 2 Kings xviii. 4, aacl Nuriibers xxi. 8, 9. 

PiiNTATEUCH, 
the first five Books of Moses. The Pentateuch is also called "The 
Law." 

2. Minerva; Athene; Pallas. — Map. 

3. C-L-ark, or C-lark (Clark). 

4. TOBACCO. 



TRANSPOSITIONS. 

1. The word Stripes transposed so as to form Persist 

2. Monkey. 

3. Pots — tops — stop — post. 



CONUNDRUMS. 

1. The widow's raite and the wicked /ee. 

2. His father was translated. 

3. The one was Maid of Orleans, the other was made of chittim wood. 

4. Because they have -eves, jet see not, and ears, yet hear not. 

5. Because we cannot make them here (hear). 

6. He gets wet. 

7. Because he finds a profit (prophet) m the water. 

8. They raised Cain. 

9. Because it is far-fetched and fuU of nonsense. 

1 0. Because it is head on one side and tail on the other. 

11. Merely a difference of time — one has feeling and the other has felt. 

12. A carriage-wheel. 

13. One is water in the pitcher, and the other is pitch her into the water. 

14. Because he is let out at night, and taken in in the morning. 

15. One tills the mind, while the other minds the till. 

16. Because they are men of size (sighs). 

17. Because she is alwavs a-musing. 



44 SOLUTION'S. 

18. Because she got a-head of John the Baptist on a charger. 

19. Eight saw sages (ate sausages). 

20. Because it is the latter end of pork. 

21. To keep off the chaps. 

22. Because the cattle eat it (cat'll eat it). 

23. The one is careless and happy, the other is hairless and cappy. 

24. To keep his head warm. 

25. Because it is in firm (infirm). 

26. Because they put out tubs to catch '' soft" water, when it 
*' hard." 

27. The former are dead men, and the latter are men-ded (dead) ! 

28. Because he is faithful to the last. 

29. One was king of the Jews, the other Jew of the kings. 

30. The one kisses his miss, and the other misses his kiss. 

31. Because she was Adam's Express Company. 



Thus ends our Key to the Eiddler. Our young readers, we 
doubt not, have very frequently referred to it, in perusing the 
various questions and puzzles whic h precede it, in order to save 
themselves the trouble of tasking their ingenuity to discover the 
solutions. They ought not, however, to have recourse to the 
Answers, antil they have made frequent attempts to solve the 
Eiddles, Some persons cannot, without considerable dijQSculty, 
find the proper answer to an Enigma or a Rebus ; while others, 
of no greater general acuteness, do so with ease. It is no proof, 
therefore, of inferiority, not to be able to reply to a quaint Co- 
nundrum so quickly as another. Many young people have dis- 
played much ingenuity in the. construction of different sorts of 
Riddles in rhyme, — they are, in general, the most happy in solving 
those of others. The admirers of these frequently amusing 
trifies, consider opposition in their component parts, or curious 
combinations, to be most essential in the construction of good 
Riddles. 



T^A.T^T IT 



NATURAL MAGIC; OR, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE 
EMBRACING CURIOUS AMUSEMENTS IN MAGNE- 
TISM, MECHANICS, ACOUSTICS, CHEMISTRY, HY- 
DRAULICS, AND OPTICS. 



Fireside Mesmerism, 

Take a gold ring— the more massive the better— but your wife's 
wedding-ring will do, if you are so lucky as to have one. Attach 
the ring to a silk thread about twelve inches loDg ; fasten the 
other end of the thread round the nail-joint of your right fore- 
finger ; and let the rmg hang about half an inch above the surface 




Fig. 1. 



of the table, on which you rest your elbow to steady your hand. 
Hold your finger horizontally, with the thumb thrown back as far 
as possible from the rest of the hand. 



46 NATURAL MAGIC ; OR, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE, 

If there be notliing on the table, the ring will soon become 
stationary. Then place some silver (say three half-dollars) im- 
mediately below it, when the ring will begin to oscillate back- 
w^ards and forwards, to you and from you. Now bring your 
thumb in contact with your forefinger (or else suspend the ring 
from your thumb), and the oscillations will become transverse to 
their former swing. Or this may be effected by making a lady 
take hold of your disengaged hand. When the transverse motion 
is fairly established, let a gentleman take hold of the lady's disen- 
gaged hand, and the ring will change back to its former course. 
These effects are produced by the Od (or animal magnetic) cur- 
rents given forth by the hands of the experimenters. Instead of 
silver, you can suspend the ring over your left forefi.nger with 
similar results. 



Hearing with the Teeth. 

That faculty which we call " hearing," can be as well conveyed 
to the mind by means of the teeth as the ear. Curious as this 




Fio. 2 . 
assertion may appear, it is easy to prove it by the following simple 



XATURAL :MxVGIC ; OR, EECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 47 

experiment. Lay a watch upon a table, glass side downwards ; 
tlien stand so far from it that you cannot in the ordinary way hear 
the ticking. Now place one end of a small deal stick (say six feet 
long) upon the back of the watch, and grip the teeth to the other ; 
with the fingers close each ear, to exclude all external noise ; the 
beat of the watch will then be as audible as if placed against the 
ear. All other sounds can be conveyed in the same manner, no 
matter how long the stick is ; for instance, if one end is put upon 
a pianoforte in a sitting-room facing a garden, and the stick is 
thirty or forty feet long, extending to the farther end of the lawn 
or walk ; if the instrument is ever so lightly played, " the tune" 
will be instantly distinguished by any person applying the teeth to 
the opposite end of the stick. 



To Raise Fire by Command. 

A vessel containing a certain white powder is placed upon the 
table by the wizard — the man who is held in great awe by the 
juveniles on account of his seeming supernatural powers, and yet 
beloved by them because he affords them much pleasure by the 
exhibition of his talent, to say nothing of the bon-bons, apples, 
oranges, almonds, and sugar-plums, which he causes to issue fi'om 
an apparently empty drawer, or handkerchief, and upon which 
they are allowed to feast. This said wizard having placed the 
above-mentioned powder on the table, now advances, waving his 
wand and uttering the magic words, " Cassafelto i^esto, aldiboron- 
tiphoskojjhorniosticos,'' when lo 1 of a sudden the room is lit up 
with a brilliant light, so effulgent that it dims the eyes of the spec- 
tators ! The secret is this : — The powder is composed of equal 
weights of loaf-sugar and chlorate of potash, separately reduced 
to fine powder, and then well mixed together. This is placed in 
some vessel, such as a cup, or in fact anything that will prevent 
the fire from injuring the table. When this powder is touched 
with the least drop of sulphuric acid, it will instantly burst into 
a ilame; if, therefore, the end of the glass rod be dipped in the 



48 



I^ATURAL magic; OR, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 



acid immediately before use, it will, on being brought into contact 
with the deflagrating powder, cause it to ignite. 



To Iiight a Candle without Touching the Wick. 

Let a candle burn until it has a good long snuff, then blow it 
out with a sudden puff, a bright wreath of white smoke will curl 
up from the hot wick ; now, if a flame be applied to this smoke, 
even at a distance of two or three inches from the candle, the 




Pia. 3. 



flame will run down the smoke and rekindle the wick in a very 
fantastic manner. To perform this experiment nicely, there must 
be no draught or " banging '*' doors while the mystic spell is rising. 



To Place a Glass of Water in such a Position that no one can 
Remove it without Upsetting it. 

Propose a wager with some one that you will fill a glass with 
water, and place it on the table in such a manner that he cannot 



NATURAL magic; OR, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 49 

move it to another place without spilling the whole of its con- 
tents. 

Then fill a glass with water, and having laid over it a piece of 
paper which covers the water and the edges of the glass, place the 
palm of the hand on the paper, and taking up the glass with the 
other hand, turn it upside down very quickly, and place it on a 
perfectly flat part of the table. Gently withdraw the paper ; the 
water in the glass will remain in it, since the air cannot enter ; 
and the person with w^hom you have bet cannot move it in any 
w^ay without allowing the air to enter, and consequently spilling 
the water. 

Note.— It is on the same principle that a bottle of liquid well 
corked is perfectly safe, even though there may be several holes 
in the bottom ; but the moment you uncork it, the liquid rushes 
out through those holes. 



Hat Measurement. 
Very few people are aware of the height of the crown of a 
stove-pipe hat. A good deal of fun may be created by testing it 



Fig. 4. 



in this way : Ask a person to point out on a wall, with a cane, 

8 



50 I^ATURAL magic; OR, RECREATIOISrS IN SCIENCE, 

about what he supposes to be the height of an ordinary hat, and 
he will place the cane usually at about a foot from the ground. 
You then place a hat under it, and to his surprise he finds that the 
space indicated is more than double the height of the hat. 



Fire upon Ice. 



If a piece of potassium be pressed with a penknife upon a cake 
of ice, the chemical action of the materials is so energetic that 
they burst into a beautiful reddish-purple flame, and a hole is 
made in the ice where the potassium came in contact with it. 

Another w^ay to make a fire is the following : — Make a hole in 
a block of ice with a hot poker ; pour out the water, and fill up 
the cavity with spirits of camphor ; the spirit may then be set on 
fire. It will have the singular appearance of " ice in flames." 



To Set a Combustible Body on Fire by the Contact of Cold Water, 

Fill a saucer w^th w^ater, and let fall into it a piece of potassium, 
of the size of a peppercorn (which is about two grains). The pot- 
assium will instantly become red hot, with a slight explosion, and 
burn vividly on the surface of the w^ater, darting at the same time 
from one side of the vessel to the other, with great violence, in 
the orm of a red-hot fire-ball. 



To make Wine or Brandy Float on Water. 

To perform this seeming impossibility take a tumbler half full 
of water, and placing a piece of thin muslin over the top of the 
same, gently strain the brandy or wine through the muslin, and it 
will remain on top of the water. 



NATUBAI. MAGIC I OE, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 



61 



The Magic Egg. 

Take a pint of water, and dissolve in it as much common salt 
as it will take up ; with this brine half fill a tall glass ; then fill 
up the remaining space with plain water ; pouring it in very care- 
fully down the side of the glass, or into a spoon, to break its fall. 
The pure water will then float upon the brine ; and, in appearance, 
the two liquids will seem but as one. Now, take another glass, 
and fill it with common water. If an egg be put into this, it will 
instantly sink to the bottom, see Fig. 6 ; but if, on the contrary, 
the egg is put into the glass containing the brine, it will sink 
through the plain water only, and float upon that portion which is 
saturated w^ith salt, appearing to be suspended in a very remarka- 
ble and curious manner, see Fig. 5. 




Fig. 5. 




This trick has caused much astonishment when publicly exhi- 
bited, although its principle could be explained by every housewife 
who, before " pickling,'* tries the strength of the brine by observ- 
ing if an egg will float on it. 



Which is the Boiled Egg ? 

Boil an egg hard ; when quite cold place it among a dozen, or 
any number of others, "the more the merrier." Now ask your 
friends to tell you which is the boiled egg. This they will be 



52 



NATUEAL MAGIC ; OR, EECKEATIONS IN SCIENCE. 



unable to do from outward appearance ; indeed, there is but one 
way to ascertain it with certainty, except that of " peeping at the 
inside," which is by spinning them. Those which are unboiled, 
and semi-liquid inside, will spin with a sort of waddling motion, 
while the boiled, or solid egg, will spin like a topy and even " go 
to sleep." 



Musical Flame. 

Fit a good cork into a wine bottle ; burn a hole through the 
cork with a round iron skewer, and into it fix a piece of tobacco- 
pipe about eight inches long. Put into the bottle about two or three 
ounces of zinc, in slips, such as the waste cuttings from a zinc- 
worker; now pour water on to the zinc until the bottle is rather 
more than half full ; then add about three parts of a wineglassful 
of sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol) ; this causes a rapid effervescence 




Fig. 7. 



at first, but which subsides to a moderate and continuous boiling 
for a lengthened period ; as soon as the boiling is regular the cork 



NATURAL MAGIC ; OR, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE, 53 

with the pipe throiigli it may be inserted into the bottle. If a 
light be placed to the end of the pipe, a flame will be produced, 
which will continue to burn so long as there is any visible action 
in the bottle. This flame is the ignited hydrogen gas (water gas) 
resulting from the decomposition of water by the acid and zinc, 
and as such is an exceedingly interesting experiment. Now, to 
be musical, procure a glass or metal pipe about sixteen or eighteen 
inches long, and from half to three quarters of an inch in diame- 
ter ; place the tube over the flame, and allow^ the pipe to be about 
three to five inches up the tube, which will act as a kind of high 
chimney ; it must be held perfectly steady and upright at a parti- 
cular distance up the tube, which varies- according to the size of 
the flame. A beautiful sound is thus produced similar to an organ 
pipe. This sound, or " musical flame," varies in note according to 
the diameter of the tube, being deeper or more bass as the tube 
is increased in size. By using various-sized tubes, diff'erent sounds 
are thus readily produced. The true explanation of this singular 
experiment remains yet to be solved. 



To balance a Stick on the edge of a Glass of Wine. 

Take a stick a foot long (a little more or less), and two pen- 
knives of equal iv eight ; stick them by the point on a level on each 




Fig. 8. 
side of the stick, parallel, at the distance of about three inches 



54 NATUEAL magic; OR, KECEEATIOKS IN SCIENCE. 

from the end you place on the glass, and be carefiil that the 
curves in the handles are turned towards the glass, as represented 
in the accompanying engraving. You may then drink off the 
wine, and the stick will still continue its extended position, and 
not fall off. Great care should be taken to have the knives equally 
balanced, or the experiment will not be successful. 



To Stand an Egg Upright. 

The unceremonious manner in whicb the Great Navigator per- 
formed this feat, by breaking one end, is familiar to all who have 
read tbe anecdote of "Columbus and the Egg." Evidently at that 
time it was considered impossible to stand an Qgg on its point. 
Such, however, is not the case. By taking an egg (a long one is 
the best), and well shaking it, so that the yolk may be broken 
and mixed with the white, it can be balanced, by any one with a 
" steady hand," upon its broad end. A piece of glass, or slate, or 
any smooth and even surface, is best adapted for this experiment, 
called the Sentinel Egg. 



The Doubled Coin. 

Half fill a glass of water, and put a dime or a quarter into it ; 
cover tbe glass wdth a plate, upon which place one hand, while 
you hold the glass with the other; turn the glass upside down, so 
that none of the water may escape ; place it on a table, and you 
will see the coin at the bottom larger than it is in reality, and 
another will appear, of the natural size, a little above it. 



To Bum the Poker in the Candle. 

With a good rasp, file off an ounce from the fire end of a poker. 
The iron filings produced are perfectly combustible, as may be 
proved by sprinkling them over the flame of a candle. As they 



NATTXRAL MAGIC ; OR, EECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 



55 



descend into tlie flame they take fire, each particle burning like a 
star — producing, in fact, miniature fireworks. Ii:on filings derived 
from any other source burn in the same way ; but we choose the 
illustration of the combustion of those from a poker, in order to 
exemplify a fact in the " chemistry of every-day afi'airs," which 
proves that iron in a solid mass will not burn, but that when 
divided into small atoms it takes fire even more readily than many 
things which are considered easy to burn. It is just for the same 




Fia. 



reason that Biddy prefers lighting a fire with chips rather than 
with a log of wood. 



What a Glassful of Water will Hold. 

It is generally thought that when a vessel is full of water, any 
solid substance immersed in it will cause it to overflow, and such 
will be the case if the substance is not soluble in the water; but 
the philosophic truth, that in dissolving a body, you do not increase 
the volume of the solvent, may be proved by a simple and inter- 



56 NATURAL MAGIC ; OK, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 

esting experiment. Saturate a certain quantity of water, at a 
moderate heat, with three ounces of sugar ; and when it will no 
longer receive that, there is room in it for two ounces of salt of 
tartar, and after that for an ounce and a drachm of green vitriol, 
nearly six drachms of nitre, the same quantity of sal ammoniac, 
two drachms and a scruple of alum, and a drachm and a half of 
borax — when all these are dissolved in it, it will not have increased 
in volume. 

We should observe that the salts used are to be " anhydrous ;" 
that is, free from the water which they take up by crystallization. 
Nearly all salts can be rendered anhydrous by exposure to a high 
temperature which dries out the water. It is interesting to observe 
that during this operation nearly all metallic salts lose their color ; 
the sulphate of copper for instance is blue in its crystalline state, 
but becomes white when " anhydrous." 

Another, although somewhat of a similar experiment, may be 
shown thus. Fill a goblet w^ith fine cotton wool, now take out the 
cotton and replace it with water " to the brim," then very gently 
let the cotton down into the water and it will be found that the 
glass will hold both water and cotton at the same time ; thus it is 
twice full at one and the same time. 

Observe : In this latter experiment, it is necessary to cleanse the 
cotton from the natural grease always adhering to it, by first boil- 
ing the cotton in an alkaline ley, such as soda or potash in water, 
then drying it and combing it out into its snowy form again. 



To Raise up a Heavy Metal Mortar, or the like, with a Wine 

Glass. 

Having inverted the mortar, spread on its bottom, or at least 
v/here the brim of the glass is to be placed, a little paste of flour 
and water. Then pour some spirits of wine into a small cup, &et 
fire to it, and hold the glass over it, so that the flame shall ascend 
into the glass, and heat and dilate the air within. When the air 
is suflSciently dilated, place the glass without delay on the paste 



NATUEAL MAGIC ; OE, EECEEATIONS IN SCIENCE. oY 

and press it tight against the bottom of the mortar, so that no air 
can pass in from without. Let it remain thus till the air within 
the glass is cooled ; and then, if you lift up the glass, it will raise 
the mortar with it. You may use a piece of wet leather instead 
of the paste ; but the latter is preferable, because the brims of 
common glasses are not always sufficiently level to press close to 
leather in every part, and a heated glass will be apt to crack when 
it comes in contact with wet leather. 



Magic Milk. 



Lime water is quite transparent, and clear as common spring 
water, but if we breathe or blow into it, the bright liquid becomes 
opalescent and as white as milk. The best way to try this simple 
experiment, is to put some powdered quick-lime into a wine bottle 
fall of cold water; shake them well together now and then for a 
day ; then allow the bottle to remain quiet till the next day, when 




the clear lime-water may be poured off from the sediment. Now 
fill a wine-glass or tumbler with the lime water thus mado, and 

3* 



58 NATURAL MAGIC ; OR, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 

blow tlirougli the liquid with a glass tube, a piece of new tobacco- 
pipe, or a clean straw, and in the course of a minute or so, as the 
magicians say, "the water will be turned into milk." By means 
of this j^ci'Sthne., " Wise Men " can ascertain w^hich young ladies are 
in love and which young gentlemen are not. With a shrewd 
guess they present, as a test, a glass of lime water to the one, and 
of pure water to the other, with unerring effect. 



The Inverted Glass of Water. 

This little experiment affords at the same time amusement and 
instruction. Wipe a wine-glass perfectly dry, then pour water 
into it until it is full ; indeed, if care be taken to have the glass 
quite bright, it may be filled above the brim. Now take a card, 
carefully place it on the top of the water, and press it on the rim 
of the glass. If this be cleverly done, there will be no air bubble 
between the card and the w^ater ; and if the glass be more than 
full, this can be with certainty accomplished. Now dexterously 
turn the glass upside down, keeping the finger on the card the 
while. This being done, the finger can be removed from the card, 
and yet the water will not run out, nor will the card fall away. 
The instructive part of this experiment consists in explaining why 




Fia. 11. 



the water remains m the glass, which is this : — The familiar gur- 
gling sound, when liquids are poured from a bottle, arises from the 
air rushing through the liquid, and taking its place in the bottle. 



NATUEAL MAGIC I OR, EECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 



59 



The air which passes into the bottle must be the same in bulk as 
the fluid which runs out, otherwise there will be no flow ; and for 
the same reasou we make a vent-peg hole in a cask ; the law of 
nature demanding a pint of air for every pint of beer that is 
drawn. In the little experiment under illustration no air can get 
into the glass, and, as a consequence, no w^ater can run out. If 
the glass, still inverted, be placed on to a tray, the card can be 
slipped away, and yet no water will flow out. In this way you 
can hand a glass of water to a friend, but he cannot remove it 
without spilling the whole. 



The Balanced Coin. 



This engraving represents what seems to be an astounding state- 
ment, namely, that a quarter or other piece of money can be made 
to spin on the point of a needle. To perform this experiment pro- 
cure a bottle, cork it, and in the cork place a needle. Now take 




Fig. 12. 



another cork and cut a slit in it so that the edge of the coin will 
fit into the slit ; next place two forks in the cork, as seen in the 
engraving, and placing the edge of the coin on the needle, it will 
spin round without falling oflf. The reason is this, that the weight 



60 



NATURAL MAGIC ; OE, EECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 



of the forks, projecting as they do so much below the coin, brings 
the centre of gravity of the arrangement much below the point of 
suspension or the point of the needle, and therefore the coin 
remains perfectly safe and upright. 



The Magic Coffee-Pot. 

Although the atmosphere may seem to us almost destitute of 
weight, compared with the solid and liquid bodies of which the 
earth is mainly composed, it nevertheless possesses actual weight, 
and, like all other gases, exerts its pressure in all directions alike. 
It is in this respect especially that gases differ from solids and 
liquids, for the latter have only a tendency to press downwards, 
while gases in general, from their extreme elasticity and the mo- 
bility of their particles, press as much in an upward as in a down- 
ward direction. 

If it were not for this circumstance, any soft object on the earth 
would be completely crushed by the weight of the surrounding 
air • for it is found that the atmosphere presses with a weight of 




Fia. 13. 



nearly 15 lbs. on every square inch of all objects on the earth's 
surface ; a weight which would be sufficient to overwhelm m.ost of 
the works of nature, if there were not a corresponding pressure in an 
exactly opposite direction to counteract its effect. Such being the 



NATURAL magic; OR, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 61 

case, it will be readily understood why a tube, open at one end 
and sealed at the otlier, may be filled with water, and inverted 
with the open end downwards, without the liquid escaping. The 
upioard pressure of the air (not being counteracted by any down- 
ward pressure) acts upon the under surface of the water, thus 
opposing the natural tendency of the liquid to fall, and causing it 
to retain its position ; but if a hole be made in the sealed or upper 
end, the upward pressure of the atmosphere on the under surface 
will be counteracted by the downward pressure on the upper sur- 
face (which has now free access to the air), and the water will fall 
by its own weight. 

The principle and action of the Magic Coffee-Pot will now be 
clearly comprehended. The pot is divided into tw^o compart- 
ments, 6, c, each of which has a pipe (h g) connected with the 
spout, and another leading through the hollow handle to the two 
little openings, e^ /. Thus each compartment has two independent 
openings. The pot being uncovered, coffee is poured through h 
into the one compartment, and milk through c into the other, and 
the corks and lid are replaced. Now, if the thumb be placed 
upon the two openings, ^, /, neither coffee nor milk will be able 
to be poured out ; for the pressure of the atmosphere at the spout 
is not counteracted, and therefore keeps both liquids in their re- 
spective compartments; but if the thumb be skilfully withdrawn 
from the aperture / and retained on the opening e, coffee w^ill 
obviously escape from the spout on tilting the pot; if, however,/ 
be kept closed, and e opened, the milk will escape, and if the 
thumb be removed from both apertures, the milk and coffee will 
issue from the spout together. The effect of this trick is very 
startling, for the Coffee-Pot, which at first appears to be empty, 
may be made to discharge coffee, milk, or coffee and milk together 
at the pleasure of the company. 



The Gong Poker 

Tie a piece of strmg, about the substance of whipcord, round the 
handle of a poker, leaving the two ends about a foot long. Now 



62 



KATURAL MAGIC ; OS, KECKEATIOX3 IN SCIENCE. 



take the ends of the cord, and pass them one over each ball of the 
thumb, so that the poker can be lifted up and suspended between 




Fia. 14. 

the hands. In this position place the thumbs and ends of 
the cord as close into each ear as convenient. If now a second 
person strike the poker, the one who holds it will hear a sound 
very surprising when experienced for the first time, but scarcely 
audible to the striker. If the blow be a sharp one, and struck 
with a hard body, as the back of a knife, the sound will be as 
strong as the deepest note of a piano, and if a hard blow with 
a hammer the sound will appear as powerful and booming as a 
cathedral bell. If the experiment be made with a large kitchen 
poker, then the sound is " stunning," and equals anything that can 
vibrate from the Citv Hall bell. 



To place Water in a Drinking- Glass upside down. 

Experiments of this kind are not only amusing, but instructive ; 
they illustrate what at first sight appears to be "the laws of Nature 



NATUEAL MA^C; OR, EECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 63 

reversed," while, in trutli, when w^e are familiar with them, they 
teach the " immutability of Nature's laws." The more experiment?, 
a boy makes the greater number of rounds will he ascend up the 
" Ladder of Learning ;" and when he is at the top, how bright is 
the prospect before him ! All is beautiful, wonderful, and lovely. 
Theo can he come down, and 

" Find tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, 
Sermons in stones, and good in everything." 

But to our paradox. Procure a plate, a tumbler, and a small piece 
of tissue or silver paper. Set the plate on a 
table, and pour water in it up to the first rim. 
Now very slightly crumple up the paper, and 
place it in the glass ; then set it on fire. When 
^^it is burnt out, or rather just as the last flame 
^ disappears, turn the glass quickly upside down 
■^== — into the water. Astonishing ! the w^ater rushes 

-Fig.* 15. with great violence into the glass! Now you 

are satisfied that water can be placed in a drinking glass upside 
down. Hold the glass firm, and the plate also. You can now 
reverse the position of the plate and glass, and thus convince the 
most sceptical of the truth of your pneumatic experiment. Instead 
of burning paper, a little brandy or spirits of wine can be ignited 
in the glass ; the result of its combustion being invisible, the experi- . 
ment is cleaner. 



The Revolving Image. 

This little figure may be made to balance itself amusingly. Get 
a piece of wood, about two inches long; cut one end of it into the 
form of a man's head and shoulders, and let the other end taper 
otf to a fine point. Next, furnish the little gentleman with a pair 
of wafters, shaped like oars, instead of arms ; but they must be 
more than double the length of his body ; stick them in his 
shoulders, and he is complete. When you place him on the tip 
of your finger, if you have taken care to make the point exactly 



64 NATUEAL magic; OR, KECEEATIONS IN SCIENCE. 




in the centre, lie will stand upriglit, as seen in tlie engraving. By 
blowing on the wafters lie may be made to turn round very quickly. 
It is explained by the reasons that were given in the experiment 
of the " Balanced Coin." 



Fire by Percussion. 

Take a hollow cylinder, somewhat like the common syringe, of 
some bad conductor of heat — of wood or of thick glass — but with 
this difference, that, instead of one end having an orifice for the 
ejection of liquid, it must be perfectly closed; it must have a 
piston like the syringe, also a bad conductor of heat, and which 
must be made to move in the cylinder perfectly air-tight. Place 
a bit of tinder of amadou impregnated with a little nitre — that is, 
steeped in a solution of saltpetre in water, and then dried — in the 
cylinder, then place the piston at the cylinder's mouth, and with a 
sudden and powerful thrust condense the air in the cylinder : the 
tinder may thus be made to ignite. 



NATURAL ^lAGIC; OK, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 



65 



To put a lighted Candle under Water without extinguishing it. 

Procure a good-sized cork or bung ; upon this place a small 
lighted taper ; then set it afloat in a pail of water. Now, with a 
steady hand invert a large drinking-glass over the light, and push 
it carefully down into the water. The glass being full of air, pre- 
vents the water entering it. You may thus see the candle burn 
under water, and bring it up again to the surface still alight. 
This experiment, simple as it is, serves to elucidate that useful con- 
trivance called the diving-bell, being performed on the same 
principle. 




Fig. It. 



The largest drinking-glass holds but half a pint, so that your 
diving-light soon goes out for the want of air. As an average, a 
burning candle consumes as much air as a man, and he requires 
nearly a gallon of air every minute, so that according to the size 
of the glass over the flame you can calculate how many seconds it 
will remain alight ; of course a large flame requires more air than 
a small one. For this and several other experiments a quart bell- 
glass is very useful, but being expensive they are not found in 
every parlor laboratory ; one is, however, easily made from a green 
glass pickle bottle : get a glazier to cut off the bottom, and you 
have a bell-glass that Chilton would not reject. 



66 NATURAL MAGIC ; OR, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCB. 

The Immovable Card. 

Take an ordinary visiting card and bend down the ends as repre- 
sented in the annexed figure, then ask any person to blow it over. 




Fig. 18. 



This seems easy enough, but it may be tried for hours without suc- 
ceeding. It is, however, to be done by blowing sharply on the 
table at some distance from the card. 



An Amusing Recreation. 

The possibility of putting a bulk so large as twenty quarters, 
weighing four ounces, into a wine-glass already full to the brim 
with water, may be doubted ; yet, with a steady hand, it may be 
thus accomplished. First, procure a wine-glass, wipe it perfectly 
dry inside and out, especially round the rim ; pour the water 
gently into it from a spouted mug until the glass is full to the 
brim ; then drop the quarters edgeways gently in. Immediately 
the edge of the quarter touches the water, let it fall. Be careful 
not to wet the edges of the glass. Spring water answers better 
than soft. Having completed your task, you will observe, with 
surprise, how very much the water now stands above the level of 
the brim wiihout flowing over ; this is caused by the " cohesive 
attraction" of the water being greater than the " attraction of 
gravity." 



Inexplicable Motion and Sound. 
Procure a piece of lead pipe, about two inches in the bore, and 
three inches long ; the thicker the lead is the better for the 



NATUEAL MAlilC; OR, EECEEATIONS IN SCIENCE. 



67 



experiment. The pipe being set up on end, we will call it the 
stand. Next obtain a piece of brass, about eight inches long, one 




Eia. 19. 

to one inch and a half wide, and a quarter of an inch thick ; file 
away the edges of one of the flat sides, to make it oval-shape, so 
that it will rock to and fro, if it be put in motion upon a table. 
Instead of having the brass filed, a blacksmith can give it a slight 
curve (observe, it must be lengthways) by a few blows with a 
sledge hammer; either way answers the purpose, and, when 
made, it is called a hummer. The dimensions here given are not 
essential to the success of the experiment ; they are merely given 
as a guide. Now if one end of the hummer be made hot (not 
quite red hot) in a clear fire, and then laid across the stand, oval 
side downwards, giving it a slight rock to commence with, it will 
continue in motion, producing at the same time a peculiar hum- 
ming sound, which motion and sound will continue for a very long 
time ; in fact, until the stand and hummer are of the same tem- 
perature. The explanation of these phenomena must be solved by 
a Q^enius as vet unknown. 



Curious Effects of Oil upon Water, and Water upon Oil. 

Fasten a piece of packthread round a tumbler, with strings of 
the same from each side, meeting above it in a knot at about a foot 
distance from the top of the tumbler. Then putting in as much 
water as will fill about one-third part of the tumbler, lift it up by 



68 NATURAL MAGIC ; OR, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 

the knot, and swing it to and fro in the air ; the water will keep 
its place as steadily in the glass as if it were ice. But pour gently 
in upon the water about as much oil, and then again sw4ng it in 
the air as before, the tranquillity before possessed by the water 
will be transferred to the surface of the oil, and the water under it 
will be violently agitated. 



Another Curious Experiment with Oil and Water. 

Drop a small quantity of oil into water agitated by the wind ; 
it will immediately spread itself W'ith surprising swiftness upon the 
surface, and the oil, though scarcely more than a teaspoonful, will 
produce an instant calm over a space several yards square. It 
should be done on the windward side of the pond or river, and 
you will observe it extend to the size of nearly half an acre, 
making it appear as smooth as a looking-glass. One remarkable 
circumstance in this experiment is the sudden, wnde, and forcible 
spreading of a drop of oil on the surface of the water ; for if a 
drop of oil be put upon a highly polished marble table, or a look- 
ing-glass laid horizontally, the drop remains in its place, spreading 
very little ; but when dropped on water, it spreads instantly many 
feet round, becoming so thin as to produce the prismatic colors 
for a considerable space, and beyond them, so much thinner as to 
be invisible, except in its effect in smoothing the waves at a much 
greater distance. It seems as if a repulsion of its particles took 
place as soon as it touched the water, and so strong as to act on 
other bodies swimming on the surface, as straw, leaves, chips, etc., 
forcing them to recede every way from the drop, as from a centre, 
leaving a large clear space. 



The Mechanical Bucephalus. 
The illustration of the horse furnishes a very good solution of a 
popular paradox in mechanics : Given, a body having a tendency 
to fall by its own weight ; required, how to prevent it from falling 



NATTTEAL MAGIC ; OR, RECEEATIONS IN SCIENCE. 



69 



by adding to it a weight on the same side on which it tends to 
fall. The engraving shows a horse, the centre of gravity of which 




Fig. 20. 



is somewhere about the middle of its body. It is evident, there- 
fore, that were it placed on its hinder legs on a table, a, the line 
of its direction or centre, would fall considerably beyond its base, 
and the horse would fall on the ground. But to prevent this, 
there is a stiff v>ire attached to a weight or bullet connected with 
the body of the horse, and by this means the horse prances on a 
table without falling off; so that the figure which was incapable 
of supporting itself is actually prevented from falling by adding a 
weight to its unsupported end. This seems almost impossible ; 
but when we consider that, in order to have the desired effect, the 



VO NATURAL magic; OR, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 

wire must be bent, and the weight be further under the table than 
the horse's feet are on it, the mystery is solved, as it brings the 
total weight of bullet and horse in such a position, that the ten- 
dency is rather to make it stand up than to let it fall down. 



Solid Steel will float on Water. 

If the blade of a well-polished knife be dipped into a basin of 
cold water, the particles of each of these two bodies do not seem 
to'f'Come in contact with each other ; for when the blade is taken 
out, the water slides off leaving the blade quite dry, as if it had 
pifeviously beeii smeared with some greasy substance. In the 
same way, if a common sewing needle be laid horizontally on a 
glass of water, it will not sink, but forms a kind of trench on the 
surface, on which it lies and floats about. This proceeds from the 
little attraction which exists between the cold water and the po- 
lished steel. It is necessary that both the knife, in the former 
experiment, and also the needle, should be dry and clean; other- 
wise the effect will not be produced. The needle must be care- 
fully placed on the surface. 



A Mariner's Compass made on a Lady's Thimble. 

A magnetic needle, very desirable to ascertain the presence of 
iron, is easily made, of the requisite delicacy, where a magnet is 
accessible. A bit of thin steel wire, or a long fine stocking needle, 
having a quarter of an inch cut off at the 
point, is to be heated in the middle, that it 
may be slightly bent there ; then while hot 
a bit of sealing-wax is to be attached to the 
centre, and the point which was cut off. 
Fig. 21. being heated at the thick end, is to be fixed 

in the sealing-wax, so that the sharp end 
may serve as a pivot, descending about one-eighth of an inch be- 
low the centre, taking care that the ends of the needle fall enough 




NATURAL MAGIC ; OR, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. Yl 

below the pivot to keep it from overturning. It must now be 
magnetized, by sliding one end of a magnet, balf-a-dozen or more 
times, from the centre to one end of the needle ; and the other 
end, a similar number of times, from the centre of the needle to 
its other end. A small brass thimble (not capped with iron) will 
do for the support ; the point of the pivot being placed in one of 
the indentations, near the centre of the top, when, if well balanced, 
it will turn until it settles north and south. If one side prepon- 
derate, it must be nipped until the balance be restored. 



Magical Increase. 

Take a large drinking glass of a conical form, that is, small Sit 
bottom and large at top ; and, having put into it a quarter, fill it 
about half way up with water ; then place a plate upon the top of 
the glass, and turn it quickly over, that the water may not escape. 
A piece of silver as large as half-a-dollar will immediately appear 
on the plate, and somewhat higher up, another piece of the size of 
a quarter. 



The Balanced Turk. 

A decanter or bottle is first obtained, and in its cork is placed a 
needle ; on this is balanced a ball of wood, having a cork or 
wooden figure cut out, standing on the top, such as that seen in 
the picture. From the ball project two wires bent semicircujarly, 
having at their extremities two bullets. If the little apparatus be 
made as we have shown, you can give the bullets a twist, and the 
whole will turn round on the needle, the figure standing upright all 
the while, and twist it about from side to side as much as you like, 
it will always regain its erect position. The two bullets, in this 
case, cause the centre of gravity to fall below the ball on which the 
figure is placed, and, in consequence, as the centre of gravity 
always assumes the lowest position, it cannot do so without making 
the figure stand erect, or, in other words, until the bullets them- 
selves are equally balanced. Any boy may whittle one of these 



^2 NATUEAL magic; OR, RECREATIONS IN SdENCS. 




PlO. 22. 

little toys out with a jack-knife, and cut any figure tliat may suit 
his fancy. To make a curious little variation of this experiment, 
drive a needle, head first, into the end of a cork ; into each side of 
the cork stick a common fork ; then invert a tumbler, and place 
the point of the needle on it, and give the cork a tv^irl with the 
fino:ers, when it wiirrevolve for half an hour or more. 



The Real Will-o'-the-Wisp. 

Into a small retort place about an ounce of strong liquor of 
potash ; that is, pure potash dissolved in water, together with 
about a drachm of phosphorus. Let the neck or beak of the retort 
dip into a saucer of water, say half an inch deep ; now very gently 



NATURAL MAGIC ; OR, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 



is 



heat the liquid in the retort with a spirit-lamp until it boils. In a 
few minutes the retort will be filled with a white cloud, then the 
gas generated will begin to bubble at the end of the saucer ; a 
minute more, each bubble as it issues from the boiling fluid will 
spontaneously take fire as it comes into the air, forming at the 




Fig. 23. 



same time the philosopher's ring of phosphoric acid. Care is re- 
quired in handling phosphorus ; but our young chemical readers 
will, we think, not forego this wonderful experiment for the want 
of due attention, for, without proper care on their part, we must 
give up showing them wonders, even greater than these. 



Curious Motions. 

Procure a basin of milk-warm water, throw into it half-a-dozen 
pieces of camphor about the size of a pea ; in a minute they will 
begin to move, and acquire a rotatory and progressive motion, 
which will continue for a considerable time. If now, one drop of 
oil of turpentine, or sweet oil, or even of gin (if allowed on the 
premises), be let fall upon the water, the pieces of camphor will 
dart away, and be deprived of their motion and vivacity. Little 
pieces of coik, that have been soaked in ether, act much in the 
same way as camphor, when thrown upon water. 

Camphor, being highly combustible, will burn if ignited while 
floating upon water, producing a singular effect, reminding one of 

4 



74 NATURAL magic; oe, recreations in science. 

the lamps which the Hindoo maidens cast upon the waters of the 
Ganges as mystic messengers to their distant lovers, or to their 
spirits after death. 



The Man in the Moon. 

This is glorious fun for the long evenings, and will be found a 
valuable addition to the amusements provided at evening parties. 
In a room with folding doors, which will be best suited to the pur- 
pose — or otherwise it must be suspended from the ceiling — strain 
a large sheet across the partition. In the front room place the 
company, who will remain in comparative darkness, and in the back 
room put a bright lamp or candle, with a looking-glass reflector, 
or a polished tin one if it be convenient, on the ground. When 
an individual stands between the light and the sheet, his reflection, 
magnified to immense proportions, will be thrown forward on the 
screen, and when he jumps over the light, it will appear to the 
spectators in front, as if he had jumped upwards through the ceil- 
ing. Some amusing scenes may be thus contrived with a little 
ingenuity. Chairs and tables may be called down from above 
simply by passing them across the light ; a struggle between two 
seeming combatants may take place, and one be seen to throw the 
other up in the air on the same principle. A game at cards, with 
pieces of cardboard cut out so as to represent the pips, may be 
played out, and beer poured from a jug into a glass, sawdust giving 
the best shadowy imitation of the fluid, may be imbibed during 
the game with great eff'ect. Care should be taken to keep the 
profile on the screen as distinct as possible, and practice will soon 
suggest some highly humorous situations. 



The Mimic Vesuvius. 

This experiment is a demonstration of the heat and light which 
are evolved during chemical combination. The substance, phos- 
phorus, has a great aflanity for oxygen gas, and wherever it can 



NATURAL magic; OR, RECREATIONS IN SCTENCE. 



15 



get it from it will, especially when aided by the application of heat. 
To perform this experiment, put half a drachm of solid phosphorus 
into a Florence-oil flask, holding the flask slantingly, that the phos- 
phorus may not take fire and break the glass ; pour upon it a gill 
and a half of water, and place the whole over a tea-kettle lamp, or 
any common lamp, filled with spirits of wine ; light the wick, which 
should be about half an inch from the flask ; and as soon as the 
water is boiling hot, streams of fire, resembling sky-rockets, will 
burst at intervals from the water ; some particles will also adhere 
to the sides of the glass, immediately display brilliant rays, and 
thus continue until the water begins to simmer, when a beautiful 




Fig. 24. 



imitation of the aurora borealis will commence, and gradually 
ascend until this collects into a pointed cone at the mouth of the 
flask ; when this has continued for half a minute, blow out the 
flame of the lamp, and the apex of fire that was formed at the 
mouth of the flask, will rush down, forming beautiful illumined 
clouds of fire, rolling over each other for some time, and when 
these disappear, a splendid hemisphere of stars will present itself. 
After waiting a minute or two, light the lamp again, and nearly 
the same phenomena will be displayed as at the beginning. Let a 
repetition of lighting and blowing out the lamp be made for three 



Y6 



KATURAL magic; OR, RECREATIONS 11^ SCIEISTCE. 



or four times, so that the number of stars may be increased ; and 
after the third or fourth act of blowing out the lamp, the internal 
surface of the flask will be dry. Many of the stars will shoot with 
great splendor from side to side, whilst others will appear and 
burst at the mouth of the flask. What liquid remains in the flask 
will serve for the same experiment three or four times, without 
adding any water. Care should be taken, after the operation is 
over, to put the flask in a cool and secure place. 



The Revolving Syphon- 
Take a tall, narrow, round vessel, A, and fit two pieces of wood, 
a, a, across the inside. Bore holes through the pieces, so that 




Fia. 25. 



they will be in the centre of the vessel, and one above the other. 
Bend a small tube of any material which bends readily into a 



NATUEAL magic; OE, EECEEATIONS IN SdENCE. 11 

syphon, B, keeping the legs straight, with two right angles at the 
top. Next turn the end of the longest outward, so that the bent 
part will correspond with the line of a circle, the shortest leg being 
the centre. When the syphon is properly placed the bent end is 
horizontal. Put the short leg loosely down through the holes in 
the pieces, after which push it tightly half an inch through a cork, 
6, large enough to float and sustain the syphon. The long leg 
will now be on the outside of the vessel. Pour clean water into 
the vessel until the cork nearly touches the cross piece. Charge 
the syphon by suction, and it will commence revolving rapidly 
around the vessel, continuing as long as any water remains, pro- 
vided the inner leg is long enough. 



The Mimic Gas House. 



The next illustration shows a simple way of making illuminating 
gas by means of a tobacco pipe. Bituminous coal contains a num- 




FiG. 26. 
ber of chemical compounds, nearly all of which can, by distillation, 



IS 



NATURAL MAGIC ; OR, RECREATIONS IN 'SCIENCE. 



be converted into an illuminating gas ; and with this gas nearly 
all our cities are now lighted in the dark hours of night. To 
make it as represented in our engraving, obtain some coal dust 
(or walnut or butternut meats will answer), and fill the bowl of a 
pipe with it; then cement the top over with some clay, place the 
bowl in the fire, and soon smoke will be seen issuing from the end 
of the stem ; when that has ceased coming, apply a light, and it 
will burn brilliantly for several minutes; after it has ceased, take 
the pipe from the fire and let it cool, then remove the clay, and a 
piece of coke will be found inside ; this is the excess of carbon over 
the hydrogen contained in the coal, for all the hydrogen will com- 
bine with carbon at a high temperature, and make what are called 
hydro-carbons — a series of substances containing both these ele- 
mental forms of matter. 



A Flying Toy. 

As it may be an amusement to some of ray readers to see a 
machine rise in the air by mechanical means, I will describe an 




Fig. 21. 



NATUEAL MAGIC ; OE, EECEEATIONS IN SCIENCE. 



79 



instrument of this kind, whicli any one can construct at the expense 
of ten minutes' labour : 

a and h are two corks, into each of which are inserted four 
wing-feathers from anj bird, so as to be slightly inclined, like the 
sails of a windmill, but in opposite directions to each set. A round 
shaft is fixed in the cork a, which ends in a sharp point. At the 
upper part of the cork h is' fixed a whalebone bow, having a small 
pivot hole in its centre, to receive the point of the shaft. The 
bow is then to be strung equally on each side to the upper por- 
tion of the shaft, and the little machine is completed. Wind up 
the string by turning the bow^, so that the spring of the bow may 
unwind the corks, with their anterior edges ascending; then place 
the cork, with the bow attached to it, upon a table, and with a 
finger pressed on the upper cork, press strongly enough to prevent 
the string from unwinding, and taking it away suddenly, the instru- 
ment will rise to the ceiling. 



The Revolving Serpent. 

This illustration represents an amusing and instructive experi- 
ment, which proves the ascension of heated air by rendering its 




Fig. 28. 



Fig. 29. 



effects visible, and it may also be used to test the direction of the 
currents in our rooms and dv/ellings. To construct one, a piece of 



80 NATURAL magic; OR, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE, 

card board is taken and cut in the form of a spiral, as at A, and to 
give effect it may be painted to represent a serpent. Then prepare 
a stand, as at B, having a needle in its upper end, and suspend the 
serpent from its centre on the needle, when it will assume the 
position shown at B. If this be now placed over a stove, or the 
tail of the serpent suspended by a bit of thread over a lamp, the 
heated air ascending through it will cause it to revolve in a very 
amusing manner. IVo serpents may be made to turn in opposite 
directions, by pulling one out from the one side, and the other in 
the reverse direction, so that their heads may point towards each 
other when suspended. 



The Ring Suspended by a Burnt Thread. 

Put a teaspoonful of salt in a wineglassful of water ; stir it up 
and place in it some coarse sewing cotton, such as Mamma calls No. 
1 6 ; in about an hour take out the thread and dry it. Tie a piece 
of this prepared cotton to a small ring, about the size of a wedding- 
ring ; hold it up, and set fire to the thread. When it has burnt 
out the ring will not fall, but remain suspended, to the astonish- 
ment of all beholders. Philosophers account for this effect by 
stating that the salt in the thread forms, with the ashes of the cot- 
ton, a fine film of glass, which is strong enough to support the ring, 
or any other small weight. 



The Spanish Dancer. 

The laws which govern the motion of bodies are capable of many 
pleasing illustrations, and the example which we now give of caus- 
ing rotary motion is very interesting and easily performed. 

Take a piece of card, and cut out a little figure like that in the 
engraving, and paste or gum it in an erect position on the inside 
of a watch-glass, A. Then procure a black japanned waiter, B, or 
a clean plate v/ill do, and holding it in an inclined position, place 
the figure and watch glass on it, and they will, of course, slide 



/ 

NATUEAL MAGIC ; OB, EECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 



81 



down. Next, let fall a drop of water on the waiter, place tlie watch- 
glass on it, and again incline the waiter, and instead of the watch- 
glass sliding down it will begin to revolve. It will continue to 




Fig. 30. 

revolve with increasing velocity, obeying the inclination and posi- 
tion of the plane, as directed by the hand of the experunentalist. 
The reason of this is, in the first place, in consequence of thft cohe- 
sion of the water to the two surfaces, a new force is introduced by 
which an unequal degree of resistance is imparted to different 
parts of the watch-glass in contact with the waiter, and consequently, 
in its effort to slide down, it revolves. Ag-ain, if the drop of 
water be observed, it will be seen that it undergoes a change of 
figure ; a film of water by capillary action is drawn to the fore- 
most portion of the glass, while, by the centrifugal force, a body 
of water is thrown under the hinder part of it. The effect of both 
of these actions is to accelerate the motion, or, in other words, to 
gradually increase the speed. 



The Funny FunneL 

This magic instrument consists of a small funnel, placed in a 
larger one, and united to it only at the top, thus forming an open 
space, a, a, between the two. 

The handle being held in one hand, and the opening, c, being 

4* 



82 NATURAL magic; OR, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 

stopped by a finger of the other hand, the funnel is completely 
filled with water, so as to allow the liquid to flow over from the 
interior into the space, a, a. The thumb is then placed upon the 
aperture 5, and the finger withdrawn from c, when all the water in 
the inner part will, of course, run out, but the liquid contained in 
the outer compartment, a, a, will be retained by the pressure of the 
atmosphere at c, which is not counterbalanced by any corresponding 
pressure at the upper surface. 




However, immediately the thumb is removed from the aperture 
b, the air will enter it and find its way into the compartment, and 
the pressure being thus counterbalanced, the water will all be dis- 
charged from it. It will thus seem as if the fresh supply is derived 
from some mag^'c or invisible source. In showing a trick with it 
we induce one of the company to drink out of the funnel, and then 
cause the liquid to flow out of his elbow or his ear, to the great 
delight of all the boys and girls in the room. 



Manner of Melting Steel, and Seeing it Liquify. 

You will first make a piece of steel red-hot, in the fire ; then 
take it up with a pair of pincers, and in the other hand hold a 
stick of sulphur, which you apply to the steel. As soon as they 
touch each other, you will see the steel flow as if it were a liquid. 



NATURAL magic; OR, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 83 

A Trick by Means of which you Change the Color of the 
Plumage of a Bird, or the Petal of a Flower. 

To effect tbis metamorphosis, you must have jars or earthen 
vases with narrow rims near their mouths ; these vases should be 
large enough to contain the bird you mean to put in, suspended 
from the opening by the neck. You will require, also, large corks 
or bungs, which will fit the mouth of the vase. To perform this 
experiment on any kind of bird you will begin by making a hole 
in the cork large enough to hold the neck of the bird, without 
strangling it. You will then divide the cork into two parts, so 
that each piece has in it one-half the circular hole : you will 
thus be able easily to place it round the bird's neck without 
running the risk of injuring the creature. Do this, and then put 
in the bottom of the vase one ounce of quick-lime, and on it two 
drachms of sal ammoniac. When you see the effervescence begin 
to take place, put in the bird, letting the cork which is round its 
neck fit tightly in the neck of the vase. The plumage exposed to 
the vapor of this efiervescence will become impregnated with 
different colors produced by the combination. Withdraw the 
cork, and the bird, as soon as you perceive that its feathers are 
turning different colors, which will be in the course of two or 
three minutes ; you will run the risk of suffocating the bird if you 
expose it to the fumes for a longer period. 

In changing the tints of a flower you need only draw the stem 
through a hole in the cork, so as to keep it suspended in the vase 
for two or three minutes, which, in this case as well as in the pre- 
ceding, will suflSce. 

Observe, that although earthen jars are spoken of, those made 
of glass have evidently the advantage, as you can see the nrocess, 
and ascertain its progress. 



A Magic Picture, representing alternately Summer and Winter. 
Draw on cardboard a landscape scene, in which the ground, the 
trunks of the trees, and the branches, are painted with the ordinary 
colors, and in such as are appropriate to the subject ; but draw 



84 NATURAL magic; OR, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 

and wash over the grass and the foliage with the liquid which we 
shall describe. You will then have a picture which, in the ordi- 
nary temperature of the air, will present the aspect of a countiy 
during the winter, when trees and earth are deprived of their ver- 
dure. Warm it sufficiently, but not too much, and you see it 
covered with leaves and herbage, as in spring. 

The liquid for producing this effect : 

Take some zaffer, that is, metallic earth of cobalt, which gives 
the blue color to zaffer, and which may be obtained at any drug 
store, and digest it in aqua regia. Dilute this mixture, which 
is highly caustic, with pure water, and use it to paint the verdure 
of your picture. It will be invisible until warmed, when all the 
parts you may have touched with this preparation will be green. 



A Color which you can cause to Appear and Disappear. 

Take a glass bottle : put into it some volatile alkali, in which 
you have dissolved copper filings. This will produce a blue liquid. 
Present the bottle to some one to cork, jesting a little with him, 
and to the great surprise of the company, it will be observed that 
the color disappears as soon as the cork is put in. You easily 
make it reappear by uncorking the bottle, which does not seem 
the least surprising part of the matter. 



The Magic Portrait. 

Take a glass, such as is generally used to cover a portrait or 
hair devices in a bracelet, and which is always slightly concave, 
and another piece of the same size, but of ordinary glass, and as 
thin as possible ; cover the concave side of the first with a com- 
position made of lard and a very little white wax, mixed together. 
Fasten the two glasses very exactly, the one over the other, so 
that this composition is between them ; and join them by binding 
the edges together with a bit of bladder, fastened with isinglass. 
Let it get perfectly dry ; and after having cleaned the glasses well, 



NATURAL magic; OE, EECREAHONS IN SCIENCE. 85 

put a portrait, or any other picture you please, under the flat side. 
Afterwards have it put into a frame, which will entirely conceal 
the binding of the edges. 

EXPERIMENT. 

When you warm the picture a little, the composition you have 
introduced between the two glasses becoming liquid, is also ren- 
dered entirely transparent, and you perceive the subject of the pic- 
ture wdth perfect clearness. Otherwise, it conceals the portrait, 
just as if there were a piece of white paper under the glass. It 
will appear and disappear as often as you choose, on making it 
warm, or letting it get cold. 



To Draw two Figures with Charcoal on a Wall, so that one will 
Light a Taper, and the other Extinguish it. 

You draw two figures with charcoal on the wall: any you please, 
but the head of an old man and woman are among the most appro- 
priate. At the mouth of one you put a little gunpow-der, which 
you fasten on with isinglass ; at the mouth of the other, a morsel 
of phosphorus, fastened in the same way. "When you take a lighted 
taper near the mouth that has the gunpowder, the explosion extin- 
guishes it ; then taking it near the phosphorus it lights itself 
again. 

A Vessel that will let Water out at the Bottom, as soon as the Mouth 

is uncorked. 

Provide a tin vessel, two or three inches in diameter, and five or 
six inches in height, having a mouth about three inches in width ; 
and in the bot^.om several small holes, just large enough to admit 
a small needle. Plunge it in water with its mouth open, and when 
full, while it remains in the water, stop it very closely. You can 
play a trick with a person, by desiring him to uncork it; if he 
places it on his knee for that purpose, the moment it is uncorked 
the water will run through at the bottom, and make him com- 
pletely wet. 



JPA.RT III 



MISCELLANEOUS TRICKS, A CURIOUS COLLECTION 
OF ENTERTAINING EXPERIMENTS, AMUSING PUZ- 
ZLES, QUEER SLEIGHTS, RECREATIONS IN ARITH- 
METIC, AND FIRESIDE GAMES FOR FAMILY PAS- 
TIME. 



The Magic Purse. 

With a piece of morocco, or any other suitable material, let a 
purse be constructed similar to the one given here. The puzzle is 
to open the same without removing any of the rings. 




Fig. 32. 



Pass loop a up through ring No. 2 and over No. 1, then pass 
loop b over rings 1 and 2 up through No. 2, and over No. 1, as 
before ; when the same may be easily drawn through rings 8, 1, u. 



MISCETJ.ANEOUS CURIOUS EXPERIMENTS. 



87 



Again pass loop c through ring No. 7 over 8, draw it up through 
ring 6, and the purse is complete. 




Fra. 33. 



Fig. 34. 



To Place Seven Counters upon an Eight-Pointed Star. 
Draw a star with eight points (see Fig. 35), which points are 
connected together by the lines A D, D G, G B, B E, E H, H C, 
C F, F A. Provide yourself with eight counters, nunabered from 




Fig. 35. 



1 to 8. With these the points of the star are to be covered, and 
in the following manner : Commence by placing a counter upon 



88 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOUS EXPERIMENTS. 

any uncovered point of the star, push it along the line which 
unites it to the opposite point, and leave it lying there. You must 
proceed in this way with the seven counters, when you place the 
eighth upon the remaining uncovered point, which makes the star 
complete. 

This feat, although a merely mechanical one, cannot be effected, 
unless the person attempting it proceeds in the following order : 

The first counter you place, say upon point A, move it to the 
point F, and leave it there. The second counter you place upon 
the point D> move it to A, and leave it there. The third you 
place upon G, move it to D, and leave it ; the fourth you place 
upon B, and move it to G ; the fifth upon E, and move it to B ; 
the sixth upon H, and move it to E ; the seventh upon C, and 
move it to H ; and, finally, place the eighth counter upon C, 
wheu every point of the star will be covered. The solution lies 
simply in these words, " Always slide one to the last point you 
started from.*' Thus, if you begin at F, and slide one to A, send 
one to A, and so on, till you have got the whole of them on. 



The Twelve-cornered Arithmetical Star. 

The circle. Fig. 36, is divided at the twelve points A, B, C, D, 
E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, by lines so drawn that they form a star 
with twelve points. From the point A, draw a line to F, from F 
to L, to D, to I, to B, to G, to M, to E, to K, to C, to H, and back 
again to A. 

The problem now to be solved, is how to distribute the twelve 
numbers of the following arithmetical progression 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 
12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, into the twelve compartments of the 
twelve letters which stand at the twelve points of the star in such 
a manner, that the sum of any two numbers that lie side by side, 
when added together, shall be equal to the sum of the two num- 
bers which are at the two opposite points of the star. 

This singular arrangement of the numbers is effected in the 
following ii^anner : Place number 2 over the ring which incl':»ses 



NATURAL MAGIC ; OR, RECREATIONS IN SCIENCE. 89 

the letter A, 4 over F, 6 over L, 8 over D, 10 over I, and so on 
andtiie numbers will then be distributed as appears in Fig. 36. 




Fig. 36. 

You may now take any two numbers that lie side by side, and 
add them together, and their sum will always be equal to the sum 
of the two numbers found at the opposite points of the star. 

For example, the sum of the two numbers 14 and 4 which 
cover the letters G and F, is 18, and so also is the sum of the 
numbers 16 and 2, which are placed over the opposite letters M 
and A. The same is the case with every other pair of numbers 
and their opposites. 



The Secret of Clairvoyance or Second Sight. 

The art of telling the name of an article, the number on a bank- 
note, the color of a substance, the name of a metal, the value of 
a piece of money, the nature of a precious stone, and other things, 
by a person whose eyes are blindfolded, has been called Claire 
voyance^ Second- Sight, or Double- Sight 

The ** Mysterious Lady," Robert Heller, and other persons pre- 
tending to this apparent faculty, have, from time to time, appeared 
before the public for the above purpose, causing a degree of asto- 



90 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOUS EXPERIMENTS. 

nishment in the minds of the audience almost without parallel ; 
hence these exhibitions have been denominated " Magic," a name 
which implies an effect without a known cause. By a known 
cause we mean that which is patent to the world, and not to the 
individual. 

From the time when the Oracles of Delphos were consulted to 
our own day, man has invented things to astonish his brethren ; 
and until the secret of one has been explained, and another in- 
vented, these mysteries have continued. 

Before science was made a branch of polite learning magic had 
full sway, and was believed to be a gift from the Spirit of Evil to 
those men who paid tribute to his Satanic Majesty. Happily for 
the present age superstition has passed away, and we are no longer 
horrified by hearing that a " learned judge " has ignorantly con- 
demned such and such a person to be burned for witchcraft, which, 
unfortunately for the many poor creatures who sufi'ered, was the 
case in the time of " good Queen Elizabeth," and even at a more 
recent period, at Salem. 

Clairvoyance, like all the presumed magical arts, astonishes people 
no more when it is explained to them. They are then surprised 
at their own dulness and incapacity " to see through" such a 
simple thing. 

The whole system of presumed " double-sight" rests with two 
persons — one who advances to the audience to receive the article 
desired to be experimented upon, and who asks a question of the 
other; and the blindfolded person, who replies. The efi'ect of 
these questions and answers being arranged into a system and 
order, constitutes the whole art of clairvoyance. 

Every question has a corresponding answer ; and, to be perfect, 
requires a good memory — not more, however, perhaps, than that 
required of an actor who learns *'a part" in a new tragedy. The 
simplicity of the questions principally misleads the audience, being- 
no other than an ordinary interrogation which any one would 
make ; modified only by an understanding between the confederate 
parties, that the same sentence, difi'erently arranged or put, calls 
forth a difi'erent reply, thus : — 



AQSCELLANEOUS CUEIOUS EXPERIMENTS. 91 

Question, Is it plain or ornamented ? 
Answer. Ornamented. 
Question. Is it ornamented or plain ? 
Answer. Plain. 

We will now give a few illustrations of tlie system of questions 
and answers, premising that the same order can be, and is fre- 
quently, carried out to a very elaborate extent. First, then, we 
have questions relating to colors, precious stones, metals, wearing 
apparel, jewellery, numbers and dates, money, miscellaneous arti- 
cles, etc., etc. 

FOR COLOR. 

Question. What color is it ? — Ansiver. Black. 
Q. What is the color ?— ^. Blue. 
Q. Tell me the color? — A. Green. 
Q. Has it a color ^.—A. White. 
Q. Any color ? — A. Orange or yellow. 
Q. Name the color ? — A. Brown. 

FOR METALS. 

Q. What metal ?— ^. Gold. 
Q. What is the metal ?— ^. Silver. 
Q. Tell me the metal ? — A. Copper. 
Q, Name the metal ? — A. Iron or steel. 
Q. What metal is it ? — A. Brass. 

FOR STONES. 

Q. What stone is it ? — A. Jet. 

Q. W^hat is the stone ? — A, Topaz. 

Q. Tell me the stone ? — A. Emerald. 

Q. Name the stone ? — A. Diamond. 

Q. Do you know the stone ? — A. Cornelian. 

Q. Any stone ? — A. Amethyst. 

MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. 

Q. What have I here ? — A, A purse. 
Q. What is this ? — A. A toothpick. 



92 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOUS EXPERIMENTS. 

Question, Name this. — A, A pocket-comb. 

Q. This will puzzle you. — A, Court-plaster. 

Q. Speak loud. — A, A letter. 

Q, Answer instantly. — A, A handkerchief. 

Q. Has it a color ? — A, White. 

Q, Is it perfumed ? — A, Yes. 

Q. Tell me now. — A. Keys. 

Q. Is this of any use ? — A, An almanack. 

Q. What should be done with this ? — A, Burn it ; a 
cigar, or cigar-case. 

Q. Do ladies or gentlemen use this ? — A, Ladies ; a 
needle-case or pincushion. 

Q. Do you know this ?-^^. Yes — well I remember it — 
a cane or walking-stick. 

Q, Now can you tell ? — A, A pocket-book. 

Q, Is this for any purpose ? — A. A reticule. 

Q, How do you tell what I possess ? — A, By a sym- 
pathy — a ring. 

ARTICLES OF JEWELLERY. 

Q, Would you like this ? — A, Yes ; a watch. 

Q, Do you admire this ? — ^, A brooch. 

Q, Who gave me this ? — ^. A lady — a bracelet. 

Q, What is now in my hand ? — A, A breast-pin. 

Q. Now, who gave this? — A, A gentleman — a chain. 

Q. Tell me, instantly, who gave this ? — A. A lady — a 
chain. 

MONEY. 

Q. What have I now ? — ^. Money. 

^. Now what have I got? — A. An eagle. 

Q, Can you tell again? — A, Half-a-doUar. 

Q. Is this the same? — A. A dime. 

Q, You say I have money, but don't tell me the coin. — 

A, A florin. 
Q. You say I have money; why not tell me the value, 

if you can see it ? — A. Half an eagle. 
Q, I cannot hear yon. - /'. A bank-note. 



MISCELLANEOUS CURIOUS EXPERIMENTS. 93 

Question, What is its value ? — A. Five dollars. 
Q, Of what value is it ? — A, Ten dollars. 
Q, Can you tell its value ? — A. Twenty dollars. 
Q. How much is it worth ? — A, Fifty dollars. 

The above illustrations are sufficient to show the plan of simple 
questions ; but as it frequently happens that particulars of the 
articles are required, they then become complex, but are no less 
easily understood than the simple questions, because the latter are 
only combinations of the former. Thus, — 

AN ARTICLE DESCRIBED. 

Q, 1. Is this for any purpose? — A. A reticule. 

Q, 2. What color is it ?— ^. Black. 

Q. 3. What have I here ? — A, A purse. 

Q. 4. Tell me the color?— ^. Green. 

Q, 5. What have I now ? — A. Money. 

Q, 6. I cannot hear you. — A, Bank-note. 

Q, 1, Of what value is it ? — A. Ten dollars. 

Q, 8. Is this the same ? — A. No : a dime. 

Q. 9. Tell me now ? — A. Keys. 

Q, 10. Answer instantly ? — ^4. A handkerchief. 

It should be understood that the questioner, during the process 
of eliciting the answers, uses such actions as are necessary to call 
forth the replies. After the second question is answered, the reti- 
cule is opened, and the purse (if any) taken out; the purse is also 
opened, and the note or dollar (as the case may be) is brought 
forth. These being returned to the bag, the keys or handkerchief 
are removed before the ninth or tenth question is put. 

ANOTHER ARTICLE DESCRIBED. 

Q, Would you like this ? — A, A watch. 

Q, What is the metal ?— ^. Silver. 

Q, Now who gave this ? — A, A gentleman ; there is a 

chain attached. 
Q, Of what metal is the chain made ? — A. Gold. 



94 



MISCELLANEOUS CTJEIOUS EXPEEIMENTS. 



OTHER ARTICLES DESCRIBED. 

Question. Do you admire this ? — A, Yes, a brooch. 

Q. Do you know the stone ? — A, Yes, cornelian. 

Q. Has it a color ?— ^. White. 

Q, Now can you tell ? — ^. A pocket-book. 

Q, What is the color of the leather ? — A. Blue. 

§. Speak loud ! (here the book is opened) — A. A letter. 

Q, The wax — " what color is it" sealed with ? — A. Black. 

We have now given sufficient explanation and illustrations to 
show the basis of this system. Those who wish to practise it 
must invent a vocabulary of their own, or make such additions as 
are necessary to render it complete. The most numerous or 
various questions are required for the "Miscellaneous" articles 
expected to be met with in a large party ; but we doubt not that 
many of our readers will readily accomplish the task ; and, when 
learnt, it will afford much amusement to themselves and friends. 



The Oval Puzzle. 

With a piece of stiff paper or cardboard, form a complete circle ; 
cut the same into eight parts, and with them produce two perfect 
ovals ; the figures, large or small, should be in proportion to those 
given below. 




Fig. 3T. 



Fig. 38. 



MISCELLANEOUS CTJBIOUS EXPERIMENTS. 



95 





Fig. 39. 



Fig. 40. 



Cut the card as in Fig. 38, and you then can easily form the 
Figs. 281 and 282. 



The Magical Arrangement, 

Arrange the following twelve counters, so that instead of count- 
ing four counters in a row, they will count five in a row. 



o o o o 
o o 

o o 
o o o o 



Fig. 41. 
Have three at each side, and double counters at the corners. 



96 



MISCELLANIEOUS CUBIOUS EXPEEIMENTS. 




o 




o 



o 




o 



Fig. 42. 




How to Cut a Visiting Card for a Cat to Jump through it. 

Cut tlie card througli the centre, leaving a perfect bar at each 
end ; then proceed by cutting the card according to the lines indi- 
cated in the subjoined engraving, taking care that you do not out 



"" 





Fia. 43. 



through and thus separate the links. When the card has been 
thus carefully cut it may be drawn out to form a hoop for pussy to 
jump through, or it will make a pretty collar for her to wear. 



The Board and Ball. 
Get the cover of a small cigar box, or any other thin board, about 
five inches long, and cut it out the shape as represented in Fig. 



MISCELLANEOUS CURIOUS EXPERIMEISTTS. 



97 



44. Then arrange the strings and balls as shown in the same 
engraving. 




Fia. 44. 

The trick is, to get the large ball off the string without untying 
it, or removing any of the smaller balls. Push the ball close up 
to the wood, and pull the loop of string down through as much as 
it will come ; then pass the end of the loop through the hole in 
the wood and over the pellet as here shown. (Fig. 45.) The 
two loops will then separate, and the ball can easily be taken off. 




Fig. 45, 



The knots beneath the wood prevent the loops being pulled 
through by the pellets. 



To Tell a Person any Number he may privately fix Oil 

When the person has fixed on any number (say six) bid him 
double it, and add four to the doubling ; then multiply the whole 
by five; to the product let him add twelve, and multiply the 
amount by ten. From the total of all this let him deduct three 
hundred and twenty, and tell you the remainder, from which, if 

5 



98 



IVnSCELLAI^EOUS CUEIOUS EXPERIMENTS. 



you cut oflf the two last figures, the number that remains will be 
the one he fixed on. 

Example. 



6 


16 


92 


2 


5 


10 


12 


80 


920 


4 


12 


320 


16 


92 


6(00 



The Cypher Puzzle. 

The authenticity of Shakspeare's autograph being volubly discussed 
by a large and merry party assembled round the fireside of a cheer- 
ful country mansion, a young lady present, rejoicing in the possession 
of the bluest of blue eyes, and sunniest of golden hair, was heard to 
remark, " That of all things, she envied the possessor of such a 
treasure." On retiring to rest, she discovered the following jen 
d^ esprit on her dressing-table : 



Tou a 
But I thee j 
O, no 0, 
But, me. 



Tou sigh for a cypher, 
But I sigh for thee ; 
0, sigh for no cypher, 
But, sigh for me. 



And, 0, let my 
Thy be : 
And give 
I the. 



Answer. 



And, 0, let my cypher 
Thy cypher be : 
And give sigh for sigh for 
I sigh for thee. 



The Remainder. 

A very pleasing way to arrive at an arithmetical sum, without 

the use of either slate or pencil, is to ask a person to think of a 

figure, then to double it, then to add a certain figure to it, now 

halve the whole sum, and finally to subtract from that the figure 



MISCELLAXEOUS CURIOUS EXPEKIMENTS. 



99 



first thought of. You are then to tell the thinker what is the 
remainder. 

The key to this lock of figures is, that half of whatever sum you 
request to be added during the working of the sum is the remainder. 
In the example given five is the half of ten, the number requested 
to be added. Any amount may be added, but the operation is 
simplified by giving only even numbers, as they will divide without 
fractions. 

Example, 
Think of 7 



Double it . 
Add 3?^ to it 



Halve it 



Which will leave 

Subtract the number thought of 

The Remainder will be , 



=14 
10 

i)24 

12 

7 



The Sphynx, 
Let thirty straight lines be drawn in such a position so as to 
form a symmetrical figure, on each of these lines there shall be 




Fig. 46. 



placed three black balls, or any other article the reader may 



100 



MISCELLANEOUS CURIOUS EXPERIMENTS. 



suggest, bearing in mind that the whole number shall not exceed 
twenty-one. Required to know how this may be accomplished ? 
They were arranged as represented in Fig. 46. 



The Crowning Puzzle- 
First place ten draught men in a row thus, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 
9, 10. Now the diflficulty is to lift a man up, and passing over two 
each time, and no more, to crown the next to them, continuing 
thus until they are all kings. In passing over a king it is to be 
reckoned as two men ; thus, for instance (not that this is any 
explanation of the puzzle, that is for our young friends to solve) 
suppose we place the 6th on the 3d, it must pass over two men ; 
and then the 4th on the 2nd, we pass a king (two men) ; here will 
be two crowns effected, but the puzzle completed must have jSve 
crowns and no men. Remember well, that it is required to pass 
over two, but never more nor less than that number. 

JExplanation, — Place the 4th on the 1st, the 6th on the 9th, the 
8th upon the 3d, the 2d on the 5th, and the Yth on the 10th. 



The Carpenter Puzzled, 
A ship having sprung a leak at sea, and being in great danger 
the carpenter could find nothing to mend it with, except a piece 





Fig. 47. 



Fia. 48. 



of wood, of which the annexed is a correct representation (Fig. 47), 
supposing the black dots in it to represent holes in the wood, thus 



MISCELLANEOUS CURIOUS EXPEKBTENTS. 101 

apparently preventing him from cutting out of it the sized piece he 
wanted, which was exactly one quarter of the board. Required, 
the way in w^hich he must^cut this piece of wood, to obtain out of 
it a piece exactly one-fourth its own size having no holes in it. 

An examination of Fig. 48 will show how the square piece was 
cut from the board. 



The Magic Star. 

Cut out of stiff white paper thirty-six small squares. Upon 
these you write 36 numbers, from one to thirty-six, and place them 
in six rows upon the table as follow : — 

B^ ^ C 

32 26 

33 30 

ai 29 

11 24 

13 8 
1 14 
A 36 35 34 28 16 15 X 7 5 2Y 25 22 23 D 
9 12 
10 2 
17 21 
6 18 

8 4 

19 20 

F E 

Pia. 49. 

After the six rows, A X, B X, C X, D X, E X, and F X, are 

laid upon the table, you choose six persons out of the company, A, 
B, C, D, E, F, and request the first person. A, to choose any num- 
ber out of the row of numbers marked A X, and to keep it in 
mind. You request the second person, B, to choose a number oift 
of the row B X, and the third person out of the row C X, the 



102 MISCELLANEOUS CUEIOUS EXPERIMENTS. 

foiirtli out of the row D X, the fifth out of the row E X, and 
finally, the sixth out of the row F X. 

This being done, you brush together each row of numbers sepa-" 
rately, and place the six numbers which form the row A X in such 
a manner that they will lie in a circle around the central point X, 
and so that the number 15 will keep its former place ; but in place 
of number 1 of the next row, B X, you put the number 16 ; in 
place of the number 14 of the third row, you put the number 28 ; 
in place of the number 7 of the fourth row, you put the number 
34 ; in the place of the number 12 in the fifth row, the number 
35 ; and finally, in the place of the number 9 in the sixth row, 
you put the number 36, so that the six numbers of the first row, A 
X, will lie one in each of the six rows, and form the number next 
to X in each row. 

Proceed in this way with the six numbers, 1, 13, 11, 31, 33, 32, 
which form the row B X, so that these shall be distributed in the 
six rows in a circle, and thus form the second number to X in each 
row. Proceed in the same manner with the third, fourth, fifth, 
and sixth rows, and you have the numbers arranged as follows : 



B 




C 


10 




11 


2 




21 


5 




21 




8 


24 • 



13 11 

16 28 

A 9 12 7 14 1 15 X 34 31 29 25 18 6 D 

36 35 

32 33 

26 30 

23 22 

20 4 

19 3 

F E 

Fig. 50. 



MISCELLANEOUS CURIOUS EXPEEIMENTS. 103 

When the numbers are arranged in this manner, you ask each 
of the six persons in which row the number which he had chosen 
was now to be found, when the number chosen by the person A, 
in the row A X, will be found to be the first number in the row 
now pointed out by him, and next to the letter X. 

The number chosen by B, from the former row B X, will be 
the second number from X, in the row which the person points 
out. In this manner you can easily discover the numbers chosen 
by the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth persons. 

When, for example, the person A declares that the number he 
had chosen from the row A X, is now in the row E X, he must 
have chosen the number 35. This mechanical calculation never 
fails to prove correct, and is therefore a very entertaining amuse- 
ment. 



The Row of Pigures. 

In what manner can a person reckon up how much the num- 
bers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, up to 50 amount to, when added together, with- 
out adding them up either in your head or upon paper ? 

Ans, — The first and last of these numbers, 1 and 50, make 51, 
the second and last but one, 2 and 49, also make 51, and so on 
through the whole row of figures. Altogether, therefore, there are 
25 times 51, which makes 1275. 



The Board and Rings. 

Procure two small boards about four inches in length, and one 

inch wide, made of some hard polished wood, furnished at each 

end with small brass rings, as represented in 

Fig. 51. Now have a piece of string (not 

Fig. 51. liable to twist) with the ends tied together, 

and commence operations by passing one end of the double string 

through the ring F from above downwards ; then pass the lower 



104 MISCELLANEOUS CUEIOUS EXPERIMENTS. 

loop over the entire board, and draw it tight by pulling upon the 

opposite end of the string. Now you have formed the first hitch, 

as represented in Fig. 

H ^^ Q^^^^^^ gffi-^^^^^^^ 52. The puzzle is to 
^^v*=i/^ "^ ^iCy-^iS-t^^— '^^-^^^^^ £^^^ ^ similar hitch on 

^^^' ^2- the farthermost ring of 

the second board (after passing the double string through the ring 
E from above downwards, and through the ring D from below 
upwards, then through the ring C from above downwards). You 
must proceed in this wise. Pass the loop H over the ring C, and 
board B, through the ring D, and over the board A ; then draw 

the loop, so formed, tight by 

pulling the boards A and B 

in opposite directions. You 

^^^- ^3- will find you have formed a 

curiously interlaced mass, as represented by Fig. 53, which but 

few will be able to diseno-ao-e. 

. In order to disentangle it, you must take the loop C, and pass it 
along the board B, putting it through the ring D. Pass the board 
through the loop C, and draw your boards in opposite directions 
again, and you will find you have disentangled one end, and the 
b.oard B is at liberty. Now the board A can easily be loosened, 
by simply drawing the loop over the board A, and pulling the 
double string out. Observe ! you will find it as difiicult a matter 
to disentangle the string as it is to put it on in the first place. 




Key, Heart, and Arrow. 

Cut out of pasteboard an arrow, as seen in Fig. 54, a key, as 
in Fig. 55, a heart as in Fig. 56. The heart must be cut through 
in three or four diff^erent places as in the plate. These three 
objects can be put together in such a manner (Fig. 57) that it 
will be very diflScult to separate them, unless a person is acquainted 
with the method. 

You press out the lowermost cut in the heart, so that it forms a 
loop, which you draw through the ring of the key, so that you can 



MISCELLANEOUS CUKIOUS EXPEEIMENTS. 



105 




Fig. 54. 



Fig. 55. 



Fig. 56. 



pass one end of the arrow througli it, without breaking the paste- 
board. Then fold the arrow together in the middle, so that one 
point shall fit accurately upon the other, bring the loop back into 
its former position, drawing it out of the ring of the key, which 
then glides down the arrow, and hangs, held fast by its barb, when 
the three objects will be joined together as seen in Fig. 57. 




Fig. 57. 



The ring of the key should be made quite small, so as to allow 
the barb of the arrow to pass throu<rh it with some difficulty, and 
as no one supposes that it can be taken out in any other manner, 
the trick seems the more difficult, as it is forbidden to bend the 
pasteboard, 



106 



MISCELLAISIEOUS CUEIOUS EXPERIMENTS. 



The Perplexed Carpenter. 

There is a hole in the barn floor just two feet in width and 
twelve in length. How can it be entirely covered with a board 
three feet wide and eight feet long, by cutting the hoard only once 
in two ? 

The board was cut after the manner of the annexed diagram : 





1 














^ 


















Pia. 58. 








i 






1 


n 


, 




^ 





Fia. 59. 



Scraps for the Curious. 

If a tallow-candle be placed in a gun and shot at a door, it will 
go through without sustaining any injury ; and if a musket-ball be 
fired into water, it will not only rebound, but be flattened, as if 
fired against a solid substance. 

A musket-ball may be fired through a pane of glass, making the 
hole the size of the ball, without cracking the glass ; if the glass be 
suspended by a thread it will make no difi'erence, and the thread 
will not even vibrate. 

Cork, if sunk two hundred feet in the ocean, will not rise, on 
account of the pressure of the water. 

In the Arctic regions, when the thermometer is below zero, per- 
sons can converse more than a mile distant. Dr. Jamieson asserts 
that he heard every word of a sermon at the distance of two milest 



MISCELLA2iE0US CUEIOUS EXPEEIMENTS. 107 

To Find six times Thirteen in Twelve 

Place your figures tiu^—^ - 

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 
and, taking always the first and the last figure together, you say, 
1 and 12 make 13' 

^6 times. 



2 




11 




13 


3 




10 




13 


4 




9 




13 


5 




8 




13 


6 




1 




13, 



A very pretty, and hitherto nnliaiown, Game at Cards, called 
TONTINE, with which a large Party may be Amused. 

(Observe, that the game may be learned in a moment.) This 
game is played with fifty-two cards. After every person has taken 
a certain number of counters — say twenty — each one puts three 
into the pool, and the play may be begun. Some one cuts, and 
deals one card, face up, to each person ; this is the foundation of 
the game. He to whom a king comes takes three counters ; a queen, 
two ; a knave, one. The ten neither takes nor gives, the ace gives 
one to the next neighbor of the person who holds it ; the deuce 
gives two to the second player above him ; the three gives three 
to the third above. For the rest of the cards, the holders pay one 
or two counters, according as they are even or odd ; the four, two ; 
the five, one ; the six, two ; the seven, one ; the eight, two ; the 
nine, one. It will be seen that twenty-four counters are drawn by 
the players ; twenty-four are in circulation, and thirty-six are in 
the pool. Thus, each time that a round is played, twelve counters 
leave the hands of the players. Yvhen anyone has no more 
counters, he returns his cards, and is said to be " dcadT But he 
often comes back to life very speedily, since if an ace happens to 
come to his next neighbor below, that neighbor has to give him a 
counter : he who is two places below him, will give him two, if a 



108 MISCELLANEOUS CUEIOUS EXPEEBCENTS. 

deuce comes to him; and his third neighbor below will have to 
pay him three, should a card with that number of spots be dealt to 
him. This rule causes many fluctuations of fortune. Finally, the 
pool belongs to him who has most counters left : but many changes 
take place before this catastrophe happens ; and it is often the 
player whose circumstances have been most desperate, and who, 
perhaps, has been two or three times dead^ who wins the game. 
The excitement and constant change make this a very amusing 
game. 



To make a Straw Cross Turn, by Pouring on it Two or Three 
Drops of Water. 

Take a blade of straw, from which you will cut a finger length, 
ard turn the end secretly, before announcing this trick. When it 
is turned, with another bit of straw make it into a cross, which 
you must stick in a crack of the table. When you pour water on 
the top of \ht straw, it penetrates into the bend you have made, 
which turns ; and the cross has the appearance of turning, although 
in fact it is fixed. 



Permutation Table. 



Take ten blank cards, on each of which you have written one of 
the figures, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, '7, 8, 9, 0. 

Take these ten cards in the left hand, as you do when shuffling 
a pack. Slip off, without altering their order, the two first cards 1 
and 2. Put above them the following two, 3 and 4 ; and under these 
four the three following, 5, 6, 7. Then, at the top of the pack, 8 
and 9 ; with the card at the bottom. You can shuffle them 
in the same manner several times. At each new shuffle you will 
have a different order, notwithstanding which, after a certain num- 
ber, they will get into the same order that they held before they 



MISCELLANEOUS CUEIOUS EXPERIMENTS. 109 

were shuffled, as may be seen in the following table, in which, after 
the seventh shuffle, they return to their first arrangement : — 

1st, 1234667890 
1st shuffle, 8934125670 

2d, 6734891250 

3d, 2534678910 

4th, 9134256780 

5th, 7834912560 

6th, 5634789120 

7th, 123456789 0. 



An Eztremely Amusing Trick. 

Place two persons on their knees, opposite to each other ; each 
is to kneel on one knee, with the other leg in the air. Give to 
one of them a lighted candle, requesting him to light that of the 
other person. This is exceedingly difficult to do, both being 
poised in equilibrium on one knee, and liable to tumble down at 
the slightest disarrangement of position. 



Peculiar Properties of the Numbers 37 and 73. 

The number 37 is one which being multiplied by each of the 
figures of arithmetical progression, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 
all the products which result from it are composed of three repe- 
titions of the same figure ; and the sum of these figures is equal to 
that by which you multiplied the 37. 



37 


37 


37 


37 


37 


37 


37 


37 


37 


3 


6 


9 


12 


15 


18 


21 


24 


27 



111 222 333 444 555 666 777 888 999 

The number 73, multiplied by each of the numbere of arith- 
metical progression, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, and 27, the six 
products which result fi'om this multiplication are terminated by 



110 MISCELLANEOUS CITIIIOUS EXPERIMENTS. 

one of the nine different figures, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. These 
figures will be found in the reverse order to that of the progres- 
sion. 



Two Dice being thrown on the Table, to find out the Spots on 
them without seeing them. 

Tell the person who threw the dice to add jive to double the 
number of spots on one of them ; and then to multiply the whole 
by the same number, 5. Make him add to this product the num- 
ber of spots on the other die ; and ask him to tell you the amount 
of the whole. Subtract twenty-five^ which is the square of the 
number five, and there will remain two numbers or figures, of 
which the one that represents the tens indicates the number of the 
first die, and that of the units will be the amount of the second. 

EXAMPLE. 

We will suppose the throw was 2, 6. 

The double of the first is ... . 4 

Add 6 

Total 9 

Multiply by 5 5 

Product .45 

Add the spots on the second . . ,6 

61 
Subtract 25 

26 

We know that these two figures 2 and 6 were those of the 
throw. 



To Show some Worms in a Bottle after having put into it Earth 

and Water. 

Talve a wide-mouthed bottle, in which you put earth and water, 
and have a hollow cork in it Fill the hollow lightly with small 



MISCELLAIS^EOUS CTEIOUS EXPEErVfE^iTrS. Ill 

scrapings of horn, and bits of the catgut used for violin strings. 
Stop up the hollow with a bit of sugar. Set the bottle in a pan 
of water on the fire ; and when it heats the water in the bottle, 
the sugar will melt, and drop in, and, with it, the filings and bits 
of catgut that were placed in the cork. The heat will make them 
roll about, and give them all the appearance of living worms. 



Piquet on Horseback, 

Two gentlemen, travelling on horseback, and tired of their jour- 
ney, may amuse themselves and beguile the time by counting up a 
hundred, as at piquet without cards, agreeing that he who first 
reaches 100 shall be considered to have won; and that, in counting 
alternately, each is at liberty to add whatever he pleases, provided 
it does not exceed eleven. 

You must first understand the peculiar properties of the number 
11, which, multiplied by the terms of arithmetical progression, 1, 
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Y, 8, and 9, always gives, as a product, two similar 
figures. 

EXAMPLE. 



11 


11 


11 


11 


11 


11 


11 


11 


11 


1 


2 


. 3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 



- 11 22 33 44 55 66 77 88 99 

In order, then, that the one who names the first number should 
be able to arrive first at 100, and that his opponent should not be 
able to do so, he must bear in mind all these products, and count 
in such a manner that he should find himself always one unit above 
these products, having taken care to name one first. His adversary 
being debarred from taking a higher number than ten^ he cannot get 
to twelve which the first speaker must make up, and afterwards the 
numbers, 23, 34, 45, bQ, 67, 78, 89. When he has reached this 
last, whatever number the opponent may choose, cannot prevent 
him from reckoning 100 first, and consequently winning the game. 



112 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOUS EXPERIMENTS. 

To ensure winning, it is advisable to master and remember the 
numbers to be made in the retrograde order also; 89, 78, 67, 56, 
45, 34, 23, 12, 1. 



Mode of Printing a Card on a White Handkerchief. 

Before performing this trick, you borrow several bandkercliiefs, 
under different pretexts, and keep them at least five minutes on 
your table; put your own among them, unobserved, in order to 
be able, afterwards, to take one away, and still leave the same 
number ; as you will not be able to make use of your own. Then 
give a pack of cards up to be shuffled. Under pretence that you 
do not wish to be present while the shuffling is going on, you go 
into another apartment. You have a copper stencil-plate, repre- 
senting the eight of diamonds or hearts, or a club or spade, with- 
out any border or ornament. Any card, indeed, will do, except 
the ace or a picture card. With one of the brushes which are 
bought at the stencil-plate makers, manufactured for the purpose 
you print' the card lightly on the middle of the handkerchief. Kea 
cards are printed with vermilion, moistened with isinglass ; the 
black is produced by charcoal, mixed into a liquid in the same way. 
When the pack has been shuffled, you return all the handkerchiefs, 
with the exception of the printed one, which you place on the 
table, spreading out your pack on it. Y/hen you recognise your 
card, put it on the top of the pack, making the pass afterwards, so 
that it will be in the middle. You take it out, and burn it, ther 
load a pistol with powder only, and having assured yourself that 
the card is completely burned, you put the ashes into the pistol, 
fold the handkerchief so that the impression is on the inside, fire 
off the pistol, and at the moment of the explosion, open the hand- 
kerchief, when the card will appear on it. 




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umes ever presented to the American public, and embodies nearly 4,000 
facts, in most of which any person living will find instruction, aid, and 
entertainment. It contains so many valuable and useful recipes, that an 
enumeration of them requires seventy-two columns of fine type for the 
Index, _ 

The Corner Cupboard ; or, Facts for Everybody. By tho Author of 
•• Inquire Within," " The Reason Why," jfcc. Large 12mo., 400 pages, 
oloth, gilt side and back. Illustrated with over 1000 Engravings. 

Price $1.25. 

The Keason "Why : General Science. A careful collection of some 
thousands of reasons for things, Avhich, though generally known, are 
imperfectly understood. By the Aulhor of " Inquire Within." A 
handsome 12mo. volume of 356 pages, cloth, gilt, and embellished 
with a large number of wood-cuts Price $1.25. 

The Biblical Keason Why : A Hand-Book for Biblical Students, and 
a G-uide to Family Scripture Readings. By the Author of " Inquire 
Within, &c. Beautifully illustrated, large 12mo. cloth, gilt side and 
back Price 81. 25. 

The Reason Why : Natural History. By the Author of '• Inquire 
Within," ''The Biblical Reason Why," <fcc. 12mo. cloth, gilt side and 
back. Q-iving Reasons for hundreds of interesting facts in Natural 
History Price Si. 25. 

10,000 Wonderful Things. Comprising the Marvellous find Rare, 
Odd, Curious, Quaint, Eccentric, and Extraordinary, in all Ages and 
Nations, in Art, Nature, and Science, mcluding mmy Wonders of tho 
world, enriched with Hundreds of Authentic Illustrations. 12mo. 
cloth, gilt side and back Price 81.25. 

That's It; or, Plain Teaching By the Author of "Inquire Within," 
" The Reason Why," <fcc. Illustrated with ovxr 1,200 Wood-cuts, 
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The Lady's Manual cf Fancy Work A Complete Instructor in every 
variety of Ornamental Needle- Work ; including Shading and Coloring, 
Printer's Marks, EKplanatory Terms, &c., &c. The Whole being a 
Complete Lexicon of Fancy Work. By Mrs. Pullan, Director of the 
Work-table of Frank Leslie's Magazine, «kc., &c. Illustrated with 
ov^er 300 Engravings, by the best Artists, with eight larere pattern 
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The Perfect Gentleman ; or, Etiquette and Eloquence. A Book of In- 
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bodv and their proper mode of introduction; How to use Wine at 
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Code of Politeness for everv Occasion ; Etiquette at Washington, Re- 
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a««/«;infoc ftf T.nve Being a true account of the most remarkable events 
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Etiquette and the Usages of Society. Containing the most Approved 

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Courtship Ivlado Easy ; or, The Art of Making- IaOvb fully Explained. 
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Knowlson's Farrier, cLnd Complete Horse Doctor. We have printed a 
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The Art of Conversation : With Remarks on Fashion and Address. By 
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Horee-Taming by a New Method, as Practiced by J. S. Rarey. A 
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The Game of Whist : Rules, Directions and Maxims to be observed 
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Madame Le Marchand. Beautifully illustrated cover, printed in 
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The Laws of Love- A complete Code of Crallantry. 

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Containing concise rules for the conduct of Courtship through its en- 
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Gamblers' Tricks with Cards Exposed and Explained. By J. H, 
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This work contains one hundred tricks with cards, explained, and 
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How to Win and How to Woo. Containing Rules for the Etiquette 
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Bridal Etiquette. A Sensible (ruide to the Etiquette and Observances 
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Morgan's Free-Masonry Exposed and Explained. Showing the 
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How to Dress with Taste ; Containing hints on the harmony of colors, 
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Mind Your Stops: Punctuation made plain, and Composition sim- 
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This little book is worth ten times the price asked for it, and will 

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How to detect Adulteration in our Daily Food, and Drink. A 
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100 Tricks With Cards, J' H. Green, the Eeformed Gambler, has 
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!r~~ ~~^ — ^ — 


: .1 


Contents of Dick & Fitzgerald's Dime Song' Books. 1 


J THE FLORENCES' IRISH BOY AND YANKEE GIRL 


SONGSTER. 


CONTENTS : 


) A\?ay Down East. 


MoUy of the Mead. " 


Bachelor's Hall. 


My Boyhood's Happy Home. j 


Ballygarren. 


My Heart is Sad. 


Barney O'Neil. 


My Son, Mickey. 


i Billy O'Rourke. 


Norah McShane. 


1 Bobbing Around. 


Och, Blood and 'Ounds. 


! Bold Privateer. 


Oh ! Come With Me. 


Boy with the Auburn Hair. 


Ould Ireland ! You're My Darlin'. 


Captain Fitzeasy.; 


Our Mary Ann. 


Emma Lee. 


Paddy O'Flannagan. 


Evening Star. 


Paddv's Wedding. 


Ever of Thee. 


Peter Grav. 


Flaming O'Flannagan. 


Kiddle Cum Dinky Dec. 


Homeward Bound. 


Pvim, Tom ! Tramp ! 


Iffy, Iffy, If. 


Sal Sling. 


I have no Mother Now. 


The Cavalier. 


Independence Day. 


The Emerald Isle. 


Isle of Beauty. 


The Irishman's Shanty. 


Johnny is gone for a Soldier. 


The Irish Shoemaker. 


Josiah Brown. 


The Scenes of Home. 


Kitty O'Rourke. 


The Tail iv My Coat. 


Larry O'Brien. 


Trust to Luck. 


Last Week I took a "Wife. 


We were Boys and Girls Together. 


Listen, Dear Fanny. 


When the Swallows Homeward Fly 


Lost Umberrell. 


Widow Clumsee. 


Mary Avourneen. 


Widow Mahony. 


Michael O'Neary's Wake. 




Copies mailed to any address in i 


bhe United States, free of postage, 


upon receipt of ten cents. 


A t 


THE LOVE AND SENT 


IMENTAL SONGSTER. 


CONT] 


ENTS : 


A Penny for Your Thoughts. 


He Doeth All Things Well. 


Alice Gray. 

Autumn Leaves be Strewed Around 


I Ask but for One Thrilling Kiss. 


I Wandered by the Brook Side. 


Aggie Asthore. 


I am Leaving Thee. 


All's for the Best. 


I'd Offer Thee this Hand 


Brightest Eyes. 


I'm not Myself at all. 


Be Off with You, now. 


In this Old Chair. 


Ben Bolt. 


Jenny's Coming o*er the Qreea*' 


Beautiful Silver Sea. 


Kitty Tyrrell. 


Come into the Garden, Maud. 


Kathleen Mavoumeen. | 


Evening Star. 


Kilty Darling, ( 


Ever of Thee. 


Kitty of Coleraine. * 


Emma Lee. 


Little Jenny Dow. 


1 Ellen Bayne. 


Lizzie Dies To-night. 


Good News from Home. 


Listen to the Mocking Bird. 


1 Good Night ! Good Night, Beloved ! 


Last Greeting. 


Good-bye, Swoetheart ! Good-bye ! 


Let the Toast be Dear Woman. 


Give Me a Cot in the Valley I love. 


Love Me Little, Love Me Long. 


Home Again ! 


Mary Aileen. 


Hark ! I Hear an Angel Sing. 


Molly Bawn, 



2 Contents of Dick & Fitzgerald's Dime Song Books.^ 




My Mother Dear. 


The Ivy Green. 




My Soul in One Unbroken Sigk. 


The Light of Other Days. 




Mary of Argryle. 


The Good-bye at the Door. 




Norah, the Pride of Kildare. 


The Dreams of the Heart. 




Norah McShane. 


The Miller's Daughter. 




Norah, Darling, Don't Believe 


The Murmuring Sea. 




Them. 


The Three Ages of Love. 


1 


Oh ! AVhere is the Harm of a Little 


Then You'll Remember Ste. 


1 


Kiss. 


Thou art Gone from My Gaze. 




Pretty Jane. 


Thou art Mine Own, Love. 




Rock Mc to Sleep, Mother. 


'Tis Midnight Hour. 




Rocked in the Cradle. 


True Friendship. 




Shells of Ocean. 


Twilight Dews. 




Scenes that are Brightest. 


'Tis Hard to Give the Hand wkere 




Some One to Love. 


the Heart can never be. 




The Dearest Spot. 


Why have My Loved Ones Gone. 
"When the Swallows Homeward 




The Gambler's Wife. 




The Silver Moon. 


Fly. 




The Dying Califomian. 


Where are the Friends. 




The Low-backed Car. 


Would I were a Boy Again. 




The Heart Bowed Down. 


We Met bv Chance. 




The Standard Bearer. 


Why do I Love Thee Yet. 
Within a Mile of Edinboro' Town. 




The Irish Emigi^ant's Lament. 




The Harp that Once. 


Will You Love Me Then as Now ! 




The Pirate's Serenade. 






Copies mailed to any address in 


the United States, free of postage, 




upon the receipt of t^n cents. 


L * 




THE CHARLEY O'MALl 


LEY IRISH SONGSTER. 




CONT] 


ENTS: 




Bamaby Fincgan. 
Black Turf. 


Paddy Hegarty's Leather Breeches. 




Paddy's Wake. 




Bryan O'Lynn. 
Biddy Magee. 


Pat and his Leather Breeches. 




Shelah O'Neal. 




Corporal Casey. [master. 


The Snob and the TaUor. 




Dennis M'Cast^r, the Irish School- 


The Irishman. 




Dublin Lasses. 


The Real Irish Stew. 




From Munster I Came. 


The Land of Old Erin. 




Good-MoiTOW to Your Nightcap. 


The Irishman's Wager. 




I came from the Land of the Pat*s 


The Irish Love lietter. 




and Pitatees. 


The Hard-Hearted Molly Carew. 




I Came from the Boar. 


The Cobbler. 




Irish English Scotchman, 


The Flaming O'Flanagans. 




Irish Hearts for the Ladies. 


The Boys of the Irish Brigade. 




Johnny M'Clusky. 


. The Night before Larry was 




Kill or Cure. 


Stretched. 




Katty Mooney. 


The Young Irish Gentleman. 


' 


Katty, Avourneen, 


The Piper. 




Leave us a Lock of Your Hair. 


The Darlin* Ould Stick. 




Meet me, Miss Molly Malone. 


The Wake of Teddy the Tiler. 
The Loves of Judy Rooney and 




Molly Malone. 




Now, Can't Yen be Aisy ? 


Looney Conner. 




' Oh ! Once we were IlUgant People. 


What Man would be without a 




Pat's Curiosity Bhop, 


Wife, I Should Like to Know. 




\ Paddy Conner. 


Widow Malone. 




Copies mailed to any addresa in 


the United States, free of postage. 




; npon receipt of tetx centp. 







Contents of Dick & Fitzgerald's Dime Song Books, 3 
TONY PASTOR'S COMIC SONGSTER. 



CONTE>'TS : 



A Big thing on Ice. 

A Parody, (comic recitation). 

A Sweetener for the Ladies. 

Be Sure a Thins: will Pay. 

Billy, I Have Missed You. 

Could'nt Stand the Press. 

Don't Think Much of You. 

Flying Your Kite too High. 

Folks that Put on Airs. 

Good Advice. 

Happy Hezekiah. 

Happy Land of Canaan. 

I Can't See It. 

Joe Bowers. 

Lather and Shave. 

Morry Month of May. 

My Mary has the Longest Nose. 

Nick, Not at Home. 

Ould Irish Stew. 

One Good Turn Deserves Another. 

Played Out. 

Sound on the Goose. 

Strike while the Iron's Hot. 

Something New to Wear. 

Sammy Slap, the Bill-Sticker. 



The Clown's Consolations to Dis- 
consolate People. 

The Age of Machinery. 

The 'Orrible Tale. 

The Goose Hangs High. 

The Tickler. 

The Bagged Coat. 

The Yankee Quilting Party. 

The Goot Lager Beer. 

The Lazy Club. 

The Farmer's Alphabet. 

The ''Bights of Man." 

The Widow Wafrtail. 

The Bachelor's Dream. 

The Obstinate Man. 

The Traveler, (a comic recitation). 

Think of your Head in the Morn- 
ing. 

Tuscaloosa Sam. 

Unhappy Jeremiah. 

Umbrella Courtship, 

"Wonder of the Age. 

"Whole Hog or None. 

"What will Mrs. Grundy Say ? 



Copies mailed to any address in the United States, free of postage, 
upon receipt of ten cents. 

,^p^ 

THE CAMP-FIRE SONG BOOK. 

A collection of Jolly, Patriotic, Convivial, and National Songs, em- 
bracing all the Popular Camp and Marching Songs, as sung by our Army. 



CONTENTS : 



A Big Thing Coming. 

Abraham's Daughter. 

A Good Time Coming, Boys. 

A Glass is Good. 

America. 

Annie Laurie. 

Auld Lang Syne. 

A Yankee Ship and a Yankee 

Crew. 
Benny Havens. 
Bully tor Us. 
Camp War Song. 
Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean. 
Come, Landlords, Fill. 
Come, Baise the Banner High. 
Corporal Kelly. «. 
Dixie of Our Union. 
Dixie of the Michigan Boys. 
Drink it Down. 
Jree and Easy Still. 



Gay and Happy. 

God Save our Native Land. 

Hail Columbia. 

Happy Land of Canaan. 

Home Again. 

Home, Sweet Home. 

How are You, Johnny Bull ! 

Hurrah for the Union. 

I Love a Sixpence. 

Jetf Davis ; or, the King of th« 

Southern Dominions. 
Jonathan to John. 
Let Cowards Shirk their Duty. 
Little llhode Island. 
My Love, he ia a Zou-zu, 
My Country, 'tis of Thee I Sing. 
Our Country's Flag. 
Our Father Land. 
Our Flag is There. 
Our German Voluntoers. 



_j! 



4 Contents of Dick Sc Fitzgerald's Dime Song: Books. 



O'Toole and McFinnigaii on the 
War. 

Pat's Opinion of the Stars and 
Stripes. 

Red, White and Blue. 

Songs of the Camp. 

The Brave Boys of Company D. 

The Bugle Note. 

The Flag of our Union. 

The Gallant Zouaves. 

The Girl I Left Behind Me. 

The London "Times" on Ameri- 
can Affairs. 

The New York Volunteers. 



The Stripes and the Stars. 

The Star Spangled Banner (with 
additional verses). 

The Union Marseillaise. 

The Union Must and Shall be Pre- 
served. 

The Union Boot, Hog, or Die. 

The Yankee Volunteers. 

There Lies the Whisky Bottle 
Empty on the Shelf. 

Union and Justice. 

Viva L' America. 

Viva La Compagnie. 

Whack ! Kow de Dow. 



The Soldier's Hymn. 

All the above Songs go to Popular and well-known tunes, so that they 
can easily be sung. Copies mailed to any address in the United States, 
free of postage, upon receipt of ten cents. 



■■>♦» 



THE SHAMROCK; OR, SONGS OF OLD IRELAND. 



CONTENTS : 



Aggie Asthore. 

Angel's Whisper. 

A Sweet Irish Girl is the Darling. 

Barnaby Finnegan. 

Colleen Bawn. 

Darling Old Stick. 

Doran's Ass. 

Erin go Bragh. 

Erin is My Home, 

Green Grow the Rushes, O ! 

Heigh for the Petticoats. 

He Tells me He Loves Me. 

Hibernia's Lovely Jean. 

I'd Mourn the Hopes. 

I'm Leaving Old Ireland. 

I'm Not Myself at All. 

Irish Post-Boys' Song. 

Irish Tinker's Lament. 

Kathleen, Mavourneen. 

Katty, Avourneen. 

Kitty Tyrrell. 

Lament of the Irish Emigrant. 

Limerick Races. 

Ma Allieen, Asthore. 

Molly, Asthore. 

Molly Bawn. 

My Heart's in Old Ireland. 

My Nick-name is Barney. 

Norah McShane. 

Norah the Pride of Kildare. 

Och ! Norah, Dear. 

Ould Ireland ! You're My Darlin'. 

Paddy Goshlow. 



Pretty Maid Milking Her Cow. 

Purty Molly Brallaghan. 

Savourneen Deelish. 

Sergeant McPadgin. 

Teddy O'Neal. 

The Blackbird. 

The Blarney. 

The Captain. 

The Croppy Boy. 

The Dear Irish Boy. 

The Exile of Erin. 

The Eairy Boy. 

The Fine Old Irish Gentleman. 

The Four-Leaved Shamrock. 

The Gray Mare. 

The Green Bushes. 

The Green Linnet. [Halls. 

The Harp that Once Thro' Tara's 

The Irish Brigade, O ! 

The Irish Jaunting Car. 

The Land of Potatoes, O ! 

The Lass o' Gowrie. 

The Low-backed Car. 

The New Policeman. 

The Old Countrv Party. 

The Patriot Mother. 

The Road of Life. 

The Shan Van Vogh. 

The White Cockade. 

The Wonderful Irishman. 

LTp for the Green. 

Widow Machree. 

Willy Reilly. " 



Copies mailed to any address in the United States, free of postage, 
upon receipt of ten cents. 



Contents of Dick & Fitzg-erald's Birne Song: Books. 5 


FRED MAY'S COMIC IRISH SONGSTER. 


CONTENTS : 


Beer, Boys, Beer. 


Sal Sly and Billy Snivel. 


Biddy Magee. 


Simon the Cellarer. 


Cabbage Green. 


Smuggler King. 


Comic Medley. [Him. 


St. Keren and King O'Toole. 


Don't Speak of a Man as You find 


Teddy O'Xeil. 


Dublin Bay. 


The Black Flag floating gallantly. 


Encore verses to Biddy Magee. 


The Gay Girls of New York. 


Fred May's New Medley. 


The Irish Janius. 


I Likes a Drop of Good Beer, 


The Land of My Birth. 


(music.) 


The Learned Man. 


I'm a llantiDg, Roaring Blade. 


The Old Farm Gate. 


I was the Boy for Bewitching them. 


The Old Maid and her Tom Cat. 


Judge not a Man. 


The Old Musqueteer. 


Katty Moouey. 


The Pope He leads a Happy Life. 


Larry Morgan. 


The llambling Bov. 


Larry O'Brien. 


The llambling Boy of Dublin. 


Limerick Baces. 


The Workhouse Boy. 


One Bottle more. 


Toasts and Sentiments. 


Paddy Miles. 


True-born Irishman. 


Paddy's Visit to the Theatre. 


Very Polite of Her. 


Poor Old Sailor. 


Watchman. 


Priest of the Parish. 


What are You Crying for, Nelly. 


Quiet Lodgings. 


With a Jolly Full Bottle. 


Copies mailed to any address in the United States, free of postage. 


upon receipt of ten cente. 


WOOD'S MINSTREL SONG BOOK. 


CONTENTS : 


Aunt Dina Hoe. 


Katy Darling, (music.) 


Brudder Bone's Love Scrape. 


Listen to the Mocking Bird. 


Charleston Gals. 


Lubly Colored Dine. 


Colored Fancy Ball. 


Lubly Dinah. 


Colored Orphan Boy. 


Nancy Till. 


Cynthia Sue. 


New York by Moonlight. 


De Old Jaw Bone. 


O'er the Hills, Bessie. 


De Singing Darkey ob de Ohio. 


Poor Uncle Tom. 


Diua's Wedding. 


Romping Nell, (music.) 


Ellen Bayne. 


Rosa May. 


Emma Snow. 


Rosy Anna. 


Female Slave's Lament. 


Sally White. 


Fireman's Death, (music.) 


Susey Brown. 


Forty .five Jokes and Conundrums. 


The Age ol Humbug. 


Gal from the South. 


The Locust Hum. 


Ginger's Wedding. 


Uncle Gabriel ; or, Sandy Point. 


Good Old Hut at Home 


Wake Up, Mose. 


Guinea Mai-cl. 


We are gwan to de Shucking. 


i Hail ! All Hail ! 


Where is the Spot that we were 


I wish I was in Old Yirginia. 


Born on. 


Jane Munroe. 


Where is my Pompey Gone T 


Jolly Old Crow. 


Would I were a Boy again. 


Julius Caesar Greea. 


Wood's Delineators. 


Julius' Bride. 


Young Folks at Home. 


Kate Loraine, (music.) 


Copies mailed to any address in the United States, free of postage, ©n 


receipt of ten cents. 



6 Contents of Dick St Fitzgerald's Dime Sonf Books. 
THE FRISKY IRISH SONGSTER. 



CONTENTS : 



An Irishinan's Excuse for a Fight; 

or, Thread on the Tail of my 

Coat. 
A Tight Irish Heart for the Ladies 
Ballinamana Oro. 
Barrel of Pork. 
Batch of Cakes. 
Biddy Maguire of Ballinaclash. 
Bryan O'Lynn. 
Cruiskeen Lawn. 
Dolly Dunn of Donnybrook. 
Don't You Think She Did. 
Friend, by my Sowl, I'll "WTiisky 

Drink. 
Gaffer Gray. 
Going Home with the Milk in the 

Morning. 
Handy Andy. 
Hoppy Hoolahan*s Lament on the 

Death ©f His Duck. 
Horticultural Wife, 
Jeff Davis. 
Larry McHale. 
Murrough O'Monahan. 
Murthough Delany's Birth. 
Nell Flaugherty's Drake. 
Paddy Goshlow. 
Paddy's Grave. 
Pat and the Priest. 



Petticoat Lane. 

Robinson Crusoe. 

Sheelah O'Neal. 

Soldier's Dream. 

Sprig of Shillelah. 

Summer Hill Courtship. 

The Anchor's "Weighed, 

The Bells of Shandon. 

The Freem.ason. 

The Great, Big, Ugly Irishman. 

The Guager's Slip. 

The Humors of Passage. 

The Hungry Army. 

The Jolly Beggar. 

The Land of Shillelah. 

The Man in the Moon. 

The Miller's Song. 

The Muleteer. 

The New York Volunteer. 

The Pirate Crew. 

The Stars and Stripes. 

The Wedding of Ballyporeen. 

The Widow that Keeps the Cock 

Inn. 
The Wild Irishman. 
There's Boom for All. 
Useful Knowledge. 
What an Illigant Life a Friar Leads 
Young Volunteer. 



Copies mailed to any address in the United States, free of postage, 
upon receipt of ten cents. 

»♦♦ 

GUS SHAW'S COMIC SONG BOOK. 



CONTENTS : 



Alonzo, the Brave. 

Shells of Oysters. 

The Bill-Poster. 

Mr. and Mrs. Snibbs. 

Nora Daley. 

St. Patrick's Birth-Day. 

The Female Smuggler. 

The Lively Flea. 

Sights for a Father. 

Nepoletaine. 

My Mother was a True 

Irishman. 
Paper Song. 
Mr. and Mrs. Bone. 
Kobin Ruff and Gaffer Gre«n. 
Root, Hog, or Die. 



Bom 



Rat Catcher's Daughter. 

Larboard Watch. 

Larry O'Brien. 

The Irishman's Shanty. 

New York in Slices. 

Hamlet— A Tragedy. 

Nonsense. 

Bumper of Lager. 

Brogue and Blarney. 

My Mary's Nose. 

Fair of Clogheen. 

Billy Nutts, the Poet. 

In the Days when I was Hard Up. 

The Irish Jaunting Car. 

Wooden Leg Sailor. 

The Sicilian Maid. 



Copies mailed to any address in the United States, free of postage, 
upoa receipt of ten cents. 



Contents of Dick & Fitzgerald's Dime Song Books. 7 


WOOD'S NEW PLANTATION MELODIES. 


CONTENTS : 


\ Belle of Alabama, 
■ Belle of Baltimore. 


Life by the Galley Fire. 


Lubly Rosa. 


/ Belle of Tennesee. 


Louisiana Bell. 


Come, Darkies, Listen to Dis Song. 


Mary Blane. 


Chorus from Somnambula. 


New Darkey Medley. 


Dandy Broadway Swell. 


Oh ! Silber Shining Moon. 


Dearest Mae. 


Oh, Lud Gals. 


De Corn Top Blossom. 


Oh, Susannah. 


De Purty Yellow Gal am a "Warn- 


Parody on the I^dy of Lyons, 


ing. 


Pirate's Chorus. 


De Skeeters do Bite. 


Ride on, Darkies. 


De Yellow Gal wid a Bloomer on. 


Rosa Lee. 


De York River by Steamboat. 


Sally Weaver. 
See ! Sir, See ! 


Eighty-one Conundrums and Jokes 


Eph Horn's Celebrated Story of 


Somebody's in de House wid Susty. 


the Misfortunes of his Lady 


Swash Shaw, Hands Across. 


Love. 


Sweep oh ! Sweep oh ! 


Ephriam's Lament. 


The Celebrated Black Shaker Song. 


False Hearted Clementina. 


The Merry Sleigh Bells. 


i Eare Thee Well, Kitty Dear. 


The Little Nigger Sweep. 


! Gal wid de Blue Dress on. 


The Possum's Retreat. 


i Gwine to Run all Night. 


Tread Lightly. 


i Hark, I Hear an Angel Sing. 


Uncle Ned. 


Have a Little Dance. 


Way Down on the Old Pee Dee. 


Hoe On. 


Whar is de Spot. 


Hop Light, Loo. 


Yes, 'Tis True, Thy Katy Now is 


Jordan is a Hard Road So Travel. 


Sleeping. 


Julia is a Beauty. 




Copies mailed to any address in the United States, free of postage, on 


receipt of ten cents. 


HARRISON'S COMIC SONGSTER. 


CONTENTS : 


Bachelor Management. 


Provided You've Money to Pay 


Courting Two Sweethearts at Once. 


for it. 


Did You Ever ! 


Raspberry Wine. 


Doctor Brown. 


Rural Felicity. 


Hymen's Court. 


Steamboat Excursion. 


If it Wasn't for Rain. 


The Boarding-house Keepker's 


If You Think You've Many 


Keeper's Miseries. J 


Friends. 


The Doctor's Boy. 


I'm a Constable. 


The Lazy Family. 


I'm a 'Prentice Boy. 


The Little Man. 


Joys of Winter. 


The Model Artist. 


Mankind are all Birds. 


The Very Singular MaO, 
Very Polite of Her. 


Miseries of an Omnibus. 


One Suit Between Two. 


Whibkers. 


Copies mailed to any address in the United States, free of postage, 


upon receipt of ten cents. 



8 Contents of Dick & Fitzgerald's Dime Song Books. 


TONY PASTOR'S UNION SONG BOOK. . 


CONTENTS : 


"Any other Man" 


The Monitor and Merrimac 


A3 I went Walking on ; or, a Trijj 


The New Ballad of Lord Lovell 


through. Broadway 


The New England Boys 


A "Warmer 


The New Whack Row de Dow 


Couldn't see the Point 


The Peaceful Battle of Manassas 


•* Freemen, Rally" 


The Poor Old Worn-out Traitor 


How are you, ** Hold Hingland ?* 


The Standard of Freedom 


Hunkey Boy is Yankee Doodle 


The Union Big Thing on Ice 


March for the Union 


The Union Bridge 


McFay on McClella.n 


The Union Train 


Old England's Position 


The Union Volunteers 


Old Johnny Bull has raised his Ire 


The Yankee's Escape from Secesh 


Onward March io Victory 


Things I Do Like to See 


Our Four-and-Thirty Stars 


Tony's Great Union Speech 


Sumter, the Shrine of the Nation 


To the Girl I left Behind 


That Southern Wagon 


Uncle Sam in for the Union, and out 


That's what's the Matter, No. 1 


against Disunion 


.. No. 2 


Uncle Sam " Under Weigh" 


The Confederate Carnival 


Union Speech, No. 2 


The Fall of Lander 


We are Marching to the War 


The Fishbail Musketeer 


Whack Row de Dow, (new version) 


The Irish Volunteer 


When this Old Hat was New 


The March of the Union 


Ye Sons of Columbia 


Copies mailed to any address in the United States, free of postage 


upon receipt of ten cents. 


BOB HART'S PLANTATION SONGSTER. 


CONTEh'TS : 


African Statues 


Hart's *'Original Burlesque Speech" 


Adventures on Staten Island "^ ' 


Jeff Davis'slDream 


Ado Iphus Snow 


Joe Bowers 


Around the Horn 


Little Pi^s 


Abraham Browa 


Mount Vernon 


Bride of Rinaldo 


Mickey's Gone Away 


Bryan O'Lynn, (new version) 


Negro Lecture 


Come Jeff, Come 


" Stump Speech 


Cruelty to Johnny 


Private Maguire 


Con Donahue 


Patriotic Song 


Charcoal Man 


Peter Gray 


Can't Stand the Press, (new version) 


Peanut Girl 


Deceitful Maiden [Speech" 


Putting on Airs 


Dat's What's the Matter. '* Stump 


Rip, Tare, my Johnny 


Disappointed Lovyer 


Radish Girl 


Down the River 


Row the Boat 


Dutchman's Shanty 


Soap- Fat Man 


Encore Verses, " Sally, come Up" 


Sally come Up 


Freezing Bed-Fellow • 


The Three Black Crowi 


Farmer's Daughter 


The Gabble Family 


Gray Mare 


The Dog is Dead 


Get Up and Git 


Tiie Groceryman 


Gay Cavalier 


Uncle Snow 


Goose Hangs High, (new version) 


Union Song 


Gay Citv Conductor 


Young Bob Ridley 


Ham F;'t Man 


Young Volunteer 


Happy Contraband 


Van Amburgh'B Menagerie] 


Home in Kentuck 




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upon receipt of ten cents. 



Price Twenty-Five Cents. 




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The Laughable Adventures of Brown, Jones, & Bobinson, with 2uo Comic 

Engravings - 25 

45. THE SECRET OUT; or, 1000 Tricks with Cards, with over 300 Illuatrations %l 00 
Send CasU Orders 1o 

DICK & FITZGERALD, Publishers, 

No. 18 ANN STREET, NEW YORK. 



POPULAR BOOKS 

SENT FREE OF POSTAGE AT THE PRICES ANNEXED. 



Tlie Secret Otit ; or, One Thousand Tricks with Cards and other Recrea- 
tions. Illustrate d with over Three Hundred Engravings. A book which explains all 
the Ti'icks and Deceptions with Playing Cards ever known or invented, and gives, 
besides, a great many new and inter isting ones— the whole being described so 
accurately and carefully, with engravings to illustrate them, that anybody can 
easily learn how to practice these Tricks. This Work also contains 240 of the 
best tricks in Legerdemain, in addition to the card tricks. 12mo., 400 pages, bound 
in cloth, with gilt side and back c. . .Price $1 00. 

The Art of Daiicing. Containing the Figures, Music, and necessary 
liistr action for all Modern Approved Dances. Also, Hints on Etiquette, and the 
Ethics of Politeness. By Edward Ferrero, Professor of Dancing, &c., &c. A large 
bound book, full of Engravings and Music to illustrate it, Price $1 00. 

Tlie I>ietionary of L-ove. Containing a Definition of all the terms 
used in Courtship, with rare quotations from Poets of all Nations, together with 
specimens of curious model Love-Letters, and many other interesting matters ap- 
nertaiiiino- to Love, never before published. 12mo., cloth, gilt side and back. 
^ Price $100, 

The Magician's Own Book : Being a Hand-Book of Parlor Magic, 

and containing several hundred amusing Magical, Magnetical, Electrical, and 
Chemical Experiments, Astonishing Transmutations, Wonderful Sleight-of-hand 
and Card Tricks, Curious and Perplexing Puzzles, Quaint Questions in Numbers &c., 
too-ether with all the most noted Tricks of Modern Performers. Illustrated with 
over 500 Wood Emrravings. 12mo., cloth, gilt side and back stamp, 400 pages, 

Price $1 00. 

Anecdotes of L.ove. Being a true account of the most remarkable 

events connected with the History of Love in all Ages and among all Nations. By 

Lola Montez, Countess of Landsfeldt. Large 12mo., cloth, Price $1 00. 

Tlie Book of 1,000 Tales and Anmsing: Adventnres. Con- 
taining over 300 Engi-avings, and 450 pages. This is a magnificent book, and )> 

crammed full of narratives and adventures Price $1 00. 

Tlie Bordeaux IVine and I^iquor Healer's Guide; or, Hotc to 
Manufacture and Adulterate Liquors. By a practical Liquor Manufacturer. 

12mo., cloth, • F»rice $1 50. 

In this work, not one article in the smallest degree approximating to a poison, is recommend- 
etl and vet the book teaches how Cognac Brandy, Scotch and Irish AVhiskey, Foreign and 
Domestic Rum, all kinds of Wines, Cordials, A.C., from the choicest to the commonest, can be 
imitated to that perfection, that the best judges cannot detect the method of manufacture, even 
bv chemical tests of the severest character. 

I^adies^ Ouide to Crocliet. By Mrs, Aim S. Stephens. Copiously 
illustrated with original and very choice designs in Crochet, etc., printed in colors, 
separate from the letter press, on tinted paper. Also with numerous wood-cuts, 
printed with the letter-press, explanatory of terms, etc. Oblong, pp. 117, beauti- 
liiUy bound in extra cloth, gilt. This is by far the best work on the subject of 
Crochet, yet published • : Price 75 cts. 

Arts of Beauty ; or, Secrets of a Lady's Toilet. With Hints to Gentle- . 
men on the Art of Fascinating. By Madame Lola Montez, Countess ot Lands- jj 
feldt Cloth gilt side. This book contains an account, in detail, of all the arts = 
employed by the fashionable ladies of all the chief cities of Europe, for the purpose^ 
4*f d<3veloping and preserving their charms Price 50 c*s. 

Courtship Made Easy ; or, The Art of Making Love fullij Explained. | 
Containing- full and minute Directions for conducting a Courtship with Ladies of 1 i 
everv acre" and position in Society, and valuable information for persons who de- 
sire to enter the marriage state. Also, Forms of Love Letters to be used on cer- 
tain occasions. A book of G4 pages Price 13 cts. 



Sent! casli orders to 



DICK & FITZGERALD, 18 Ann St, N. Y. 



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